Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Price Target Lowered to $85.00 at Wells Fargo & Company

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) had its price objective decreased by Wells Fargo & Company from $88.00 to $85.00 in a report issued on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an overweight rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Sempra from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Argus downgraded Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. UBS Group cut shares of Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $95.00 to $78.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $77.00 price target (down from $96.00) on shares of Sempra in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $99.00 to $76.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $81.33.

Sempra Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SRE opened at $70.76 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $77.82 and its 200 day moving average is $83.31. The stock has a market cap of $46.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.76. Sempra has a 1-year low of $64.89 and a 1-year high of $95.77. The company has a current ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.47 by $0.03. Sempra had a net margin of 22.63% and a return on equity of 8.06%. The firm had revenue of $3.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.73 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.13 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Sempra will post 4.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 20th will be paid a $0.645 dividend. This represents a $2.58 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.65%. This is a boost from Sempra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 20th. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio is presently 58.37%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Pablo Ferrero acquired 2,600 shares of Sempra stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The stock was bought at an average price of $70.96 per share, with a total value of $184,496.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 15,649 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,110,453.04. This represents a 19.92 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 2,755 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.93, for a total value of $225,717.15. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 13,905 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,139,236.65. This represents a 16.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders bought 9,319 shares of company stock worth $651,676. 0.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sempra

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Lindbrook Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Sempra by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 2,410 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $211,000 after buying an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC lifted its position in Sempra by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 8,194 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $719,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Sempra by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,585 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $227,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. MJP Associates Inc. ADV increased its holdings in shares of Sempra by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. MJP Associates Inc. ADV now owns 6,195 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $543,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Sempra by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 2,639 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $232,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.