Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Reaches New 12-Month High – Should You Buy?

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $93.12 and last traded at $92.63, with a volume of 100776 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $92.20.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SRE has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Sempra from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Bank of America assumed coverage on Sempra in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $94.00 price target on the stock. Barclays upped their price target on Sempra from $87.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Sempra from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Sempra from $93.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $89.00.

Sempra Trading Down 0.2 %

The company has a current ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $83.99 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $79.60. The firm has a market cap of $58.25 billion, a PE ratio of 20.26, a PEG ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.75.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by ($0.16). The firm had revenue of $2.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.54 billion. Sempra had a net margin of 22.63% and a return on equity of 8.06%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.08 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Sempra will post 4.77 EPS for the current year.

Sempra Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 5th will be paid a $0.62 dividend. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 5th. Sempra’s payout ratio is presently 54.63%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of Sempra by 9.1% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 18,978,605 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,587,181,000 after purchasing an additional 1,582,653 shares in the last quarter. M&G Plc purchased a new position in Sempra during the first quarter valued at $64,994,000. Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its position in Sempra by 6.9% during the second quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 13,452,912 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,023,228,000 after purchasing an additional 874,133 shares in the last quarter. Zimmer Partners LP lifted its position in Sempra by 96.9% during the first quarter. Zimmer Partners LP now owns 1,636,202 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $117,528,000 after purchasing an additional 805,084 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. purchased a new position in Sempra during the first quarter valued at $42,630,000. 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.