Sempra (NYSE:SRE) PT Lowered to $84.00 at BMO Capital Markets

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) had its price objective reduced by BMO Capital Markets from $86.00 to $84.00 in a research note published on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Sempra from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Sempra from $79.00 to $76.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a report on Monday, June 24th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Sempra from $79.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. Mizuho lifted their price target on Sempra from $79.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH reduced their price target on Sempra from $81.50 to $79.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Sempra presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $82.10.

Sempra Trading Up 0.0 %

Shares of NYSE SRE opened at $77.05 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $75.97 and its two-hundred day moving average is $73.11. Sempra has a 1-year low of $63.75 and a 1-year high of $78.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $48.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.07, a PEG ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.62 and a quick ratio of 0.57.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.35 by ($0.01). Sempra had a net margin of 20.99% and a return on equity of 8.95%. The business had revenue of $3.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.58 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.46 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 44.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Sempra will post 4.8 EPS for the current year.

Sempra Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 27th will be issued a $0.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 27th. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.22%. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.93%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sempra

In other Sempra news, CAO Peter R. Wall sold 6,100 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.07, for a total transaction of $457,927.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 14,751 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,107,357.57. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Sempra news, Director Richard J. Mark bought 1,925 shares of Sempra stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 17th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $77.97 per share, for a total transaction of $150,092.25. Following the purchase, the director now owns 5,420 shares in the company, valued at approximately $422,597.40. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Peter R. Wall sold 6,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.07, for a total value of $457,927.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 14,751 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,107,357.57. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sempra

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in SRE. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Sempra by 101.8% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 62,117,948 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,225,884,000 after purchasing an additional 31,334,782 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of Sempra by 12.1% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 27,123,899 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,026,969,000 after purchasing an additional 2,917,668 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Sempra in the 4th quarter worth approximately $958,253,000. Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its position in Sempra by 1.9% during the first quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 12,578,779 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $903,534,000 after purchasing an additional 233,819 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of Sempra by 7.7% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,077,642 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $528,912,000 after buying an additional 507,622 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

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.