Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Receives Average Recommendation of “Buy” from Brokerages

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) has received an average rating of “Buy” from the ten brokerages that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $91.60.

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on SRE shares. Morgan Stanley upgraded Sempra from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $85.00 to $98.00 in a report on Friday, December 13th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Sempra from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Bank of America assumed coverage on Sempra in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $94.00 price target for the company. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Sempra from $89.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Sempra from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th.

Sempra Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of SRE stock opened at $87.77 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $88.87 and its 200 day moving average price is $82.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $55.59 billion, a PE ratio of 19.33, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.52 and a quick ratio of 0.47. Sempra has a 1-year low of $66.40 and a 1-year high of $95.77.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by ($0.16). The company had revenue of $2.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.54 billion. Sempra had a return on equity of 8.06% and a net margin of 22.63%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.08 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Sempra will post 4.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 5th will be issued a $0.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.83%. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.63%.

Insider Transactions at Sempra

In other news, VP Trevor I. Mihalik sold 23,713 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.09, for a total transaction of $2,207,443.17. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 11,190 shares in the company, valued at $1,041,677.10. This represents a 67.94 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sempra

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Eastern Bank acquired a new position in shares of Sempra in the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Hollencrest Capital Management boosted its holdings in Sempra by 250.0% in the third quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 378 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 270 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Sempra during the second quarter valued at about $33,000. SouthState Corp increased its stake in Sempra by 900.0% during the second quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 470 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 423 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LRI Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of Sempra by 180.4% in the 3rd quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 443 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 285 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

About Sempra

Sempra operates as an energy infrastructure company in the United States and internationally. It operates through three segments: Sempra California, Sempra Texas Utilities, and Sempra Infrastructure. The Sempra California segment provides electric services; and natural gas services to San Diego County.