Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Cut to Hold at Argus

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) was downgraded by equities researchers at Argus from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Tuesday,Finviz reports.

SRE has been the subject of several other reports. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Sempra from $100.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the company from $99.00 to $76.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Mizuho cut their price target on shares of Sempra from $92.00 to $76.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and set a $77.00 price target (down from $96.00) on shares of Sempra in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on shares of Sempra from $92.00 to $78.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $81.50.

Sempra Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE:SRE opened at $71.03 on Tuesday. Sempra has a 52-week low of $64.89 and a 52-week high of $95.77. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $79.31 and a 200 day moving average of $83.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.27 billion, a PE ratio of 15.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a current ratio of 0.52.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company 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 earned $1.13 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Sempra will post 4.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director James C. Yardley purchased 5,019 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $69.74 per share, with a total value of $350,025.06. Following the completion of the purchase, 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Pablo Ferrero purchased 2,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $70.96 per share, with a total value of $184,496.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 15,649 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,110,453.04. This represents a 19.92 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders purchased a total of 9,319 shares of company stock valued at $651,676 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sempra

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new position in shares of Sempra during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Sempra during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Sempra during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. TCTC Holdings LLC increased its stake in shares of Sempra by 265.2% during the fourth quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 336 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 244 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Sempra during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. 89.65% of the stock is 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.