Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Receives New Coverage from Analysts at Bank of America

Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE) in a report released on Thursday, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage issued a buy rating and a $94.00 target price on the utilities provider’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH cut their price target on Sempra from $81.50 to $79.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 29th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Sempra from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Sempra from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Barclays boosted their price target on Sempra from $81.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Sempra from $90.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Sempra presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $85.00.

Sempra Stock Performance

Shares of SRE stock opened at $82.97 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $79.69 and a 200 day moving average price of $75.47. The stock has a market cap of $52.53 billion, a PE ratio of 18.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.75. Sempra has a 1 year low of $63.75 and a 1 year high of $84.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 0.46.

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

Sempra Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 26th will be given a dividend of $0.62 per share. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 26th. 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 business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.07, for a total transaction of $457,927.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 14,751 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,107,357.57. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.24% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sempra

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Crestline Management LP lifted its stake in shares of Sempra by 14.0% during the fourth quarter. Crestline Management LP now owns 119,174 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $8,906,000 after purchasing an additional 14,674 shares in the last quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Sempra by 932.2% during the fourth quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 43,848 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,277,000 after purchasing an additional 39,600 shares in the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new position in shares of Sempra during the first quarter worth about $815,000. D.A. Davidson & CO. lifted its stake in shares of Sempra by 14.4% during the fourth quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 41,202 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,079,000 after purchasing an additional 5,197 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Magnetar Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sempra during the first quarter worth about $2,293,000. Hedge funds and other 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.