Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) has been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the ten research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $86.20.

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on SRE. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Sempra from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Sempra from $90.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Sempra in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $94.00 target price on the stock. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Sempra from $87.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Sempra from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sempra

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new stake in Sempra in the first quarter valued at $815,000. Magnetar Financial LLC purchased a new position in Sempra during the 1st quarter valued at about $2,293,000. Forsta AP Fonden raised its position in Sempra by 13.7% during the first quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 117,200 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $8,418,000 after acquiring an additional 14,100 shares during the last quarter. Perpetual Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Sempra by 4.8% in the first quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 2,891,026 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $207,662,000 after purchasing an additional 133,119 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC grew its position in shares of Sempra by 249.9% in the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 155,854 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $11,195,000 after purchasing an additional 111,314 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Sempra Price Performance

SRE stock opened at $83.15 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $81.68 and a 200 day moving average price of $77.32. The company has a quick ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84. The stock has a market cap of $52.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.44, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.75. Sempra has a fifty-two week low of $66.40 and a fifty-two week high of $84.47.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.92 by ($0.03). Sempra had a return on equity of 8.58% and a net margin of 22.31%. The company had revenue of $3.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.46 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.94 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Sempra will post 4.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 26th will be issued a $0.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 26th. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.98%. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.99%.

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.