Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Reaches New 52-Week High After Dividend Announcement

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday after the company announced a dividend. The stock traded as high as $83.91 and last traded at $83.87, with a volume of 88603 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $82.63.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 26th will be paid a dividend of $0.62 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 26th. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.98%. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.93%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SRE has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Sempra from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH decreased their price target on Sempra from $81.50 to $79.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 29th. Mizuho raised their price objective on Sempra from $79.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on shares of Sempra from $86.00 to $84.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Sempra from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $83.36.

Sempra Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $52.61 billion, a PE ratio of 18.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 0.46. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $78.88 and its two-hundred day moving average is $74.99.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Peter R. Wall sold 6,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.07, for a total value of $457,927.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 14,751 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,107,357.57. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sempra

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Family Firm Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Sempra during the second quarter worth $30,000. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Sempra by 195.1% during the 4th quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 419 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 277 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sempra during the 2nd quarter worth about $33,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Sempra in the 2nd quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, SouthState Corp raised its position in shares of Sempra by 900.0% during the 2nd quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 470 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 423 shares in the last quarter. 89.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.