Barclays Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Stock

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) had its price target hoisted by Barclays from $89.00 to $99.00 in a note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “overweight” rating on the utilities provider’s stock. Barclays‘s target price would indicate a potential upside of 7.61% from the stock’s previous close.

SRE has been the subject of several other reports. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Sempra in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $98.00 price objective for the company. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Sempra in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $94.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Sempra from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Sempra from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Sempra from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $89.91.

Sempra Trading Down 0.1 %

SRE opened at $92.00 on Monday. 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 market cap of $58.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.26, a PEG ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.77. Sempra has a 12 month low of $66.40 and a 12 month high of $95.77. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $87.09 and a 200-day moving average price of $81.53.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.05 by ($0.16). Sempra had a return on equity of 8.06% and a net margin of 22.63%. The firm had revenue of $2.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.54 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.08 earnings per share. Sempra’s revenue for the quarter was down 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Sempra will post 4.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Trevor I. Mihalik sold 23,713 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.09, for a total transaction of $2,207,443.17. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 11,190 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,041,677.10. This represents a 67.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sempra

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Perennial Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Sempra by 2.8% in the second quarter. Perennial Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,963 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $377,000 after buying an additional 134 shares during the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC lifted its stake in Sempra by 1.6% during the third quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 8,742 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $731,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Sempra by 4.0% in the second quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,794 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $289,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares in the last quarter. Lester Murray Antman dba SimplyRich increased its stake in Sempra by 1.2% in the second quarter. Lester Murray Antman dba SimplyRich now owns 12,558 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $955,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Conning Inc. raised its holdings in Sempra by 3.8% during the second quarter. Conning Inc. now owns 4,184 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $318,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.