Morgan Stanley Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Stock

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) had its target price lifted by equities researchers at Morgan Stanley from $85.00 to $86.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “overweight” rating on the utilities provider’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 23.64% from the company’s current price.

Several other research analysts have also commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of Sempra from $92.00 to $78.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Sempra from $96.00 to $88.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and set a $77.00 target price (down from $96.00) on shares of Sempra in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Barclays lowered shares of Sempra from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $95.00 to $72.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Mizuho reduced their target price on shares of Sempra from $92.00 to $76.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $81.58.

Sempra Price Performance

Shares of SRE stock opened at $69.56 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $45.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.32, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.76. 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 $64.89 and a 1-year high of $95.77. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $78.36 and a two-hundred day moving average of $83.57.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.47 by $0.03. Sempra had a net margin of 22.63% and a return on equity of 8.06%. The business 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 company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Sempra will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Sempra news, Director Pablo Ferrero bought 2,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $70.96 per share, for a total transaction of $184,496.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 15,649 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,110,453.04. This trade represents a 19.92 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director James C. Yardley bought 5,019 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $69.74 per share, for a total transaction of $350,025.06. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 5,019 shares in the company, valued at approximately $350,025.06. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have purchased 9,319 shares of company stock worth $651,676. 0.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Sempra

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in SRE. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new stake in shares of Sempra in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Sempra in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Sempra in the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. TCTC Holdings LLC increased its position in shares of Sempra by 265.2% in the fourth quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 336 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 244 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Sempra in the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. 89.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Sempra Company Profile

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.