Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) has received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven brokerages that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and ten have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $89.00.

A number of research firms recently weighed in on SRE. Barclays increased their price objective on Sempra from $87.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Sempra from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Sempra from $93.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Sempra from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Sempra in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $98.00 price objective on the stock.

Sempra Stock Performance

Shares of SRE stock opened at $91.25 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $83.60 and its 200-day moving average price is $79.21. Sempra has a 12 month low of $66.40 and a 12 month high of $91.88. The company has a current ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $57.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.10, a PEG ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.75.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by ($0.17). Sempra had a return on equity of 8.01% and a net margin of 22.63%. The business had revenue of $2.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.54 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.08 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Sempra will post 4.77 EPS for the current year.

Sempra Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.62 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.72%. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.63%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of Sempra by 6.9% in 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 buying an additional 874,133 shares in the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale boosted its stake in Sempra by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 2,404,573 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $182,158,000 after purchasing an additional 48,592 shares during the last quarter. Swiss National Bank increased its holdings in Sempra by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 1,878,400 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $157,091,000 after purchasing an additional 6,700 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC raised its stake in shares of Sempra by 3.5% in the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,840,876 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $153,952,000 after purchasing an additional 63,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Sempra by 19.7% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,757,553 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $133,679,000 after purchasing an additional 289,731 shares in the last quarter. 89.65% of the stock is 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.