Barclays Downgrades Sempra (NYSE:SRE) to Equal Weight

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) was downgraded by Barclays from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a note issued to investors on Thursday,Briefing.com Automated Import reports. They presently have a $72.00 target price on the utilities provider’s stock, down from their prior target price of $95.00. Barclays‘s target price would indicate a potential downside of 0.96% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently commented on the company. Guggenheim reduced their target price on Sempra from $95.00 to $87.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Sempra from $100.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $99.00 to $76.00 in a research note on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Sempra from $96.00 to $88.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price target on Sempra from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $84.54.

Sempra Stock Up 2.9 %

Shares of SRE stock opened at $72.70 on Thursday. 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 has a fifty-two week low of $64.89 and a fifty-two week high of $95.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.05 billion, a PE ratio of 16.01, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.78. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $83.71 and its 200-day simple moving average is $84.84.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.47 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $3.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.73 billion. Sempra had a return on equity of 8.06% and a net margin of 22.63%. The company’s revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.13 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Sempra will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sempra

In other Sempra news, CEO Jeffrey W. Martin sold 49,737 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.94, for a total value of $4,125,186.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2 shares in the company, valued at $165.88. This represents a 100.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 2,755 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.93, for a total transaction of $225,717.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 13,905 shares in the company, valued at $1,139,236.65. This represents a 16.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sempra

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