Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Price Target Cut to $88.00 by Analysts at Wells Fargo & Company

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) had its price objective dropped by equities researchers at Wells Fargo & Company from $96.00 to $88.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “overweight” rating on the utilities provider’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price target indicates a potential upside of 22.24% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other brokerages have also recently weighed in on SRE. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Sempra from $99.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Sempra from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $85.00 to $98.00 in a research report on Friday, December 13th. UBS Group cut shares of Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $95.00 to $78.00 in a report on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group cut Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $99.00 to $76.00 in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price target on Sempra from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the company 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, Sempra presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $84.54.

Sempra Trading Down 1.2 %

SRE opened at $71.99 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.60 billion, a PE ratio of 15.86, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.52 and a quick ratio of 0.47. Sempra has a 12-month low of $64.89 and a 12-month high of $95.77. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $83.43 and its 200 day moving average price is $84.75.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.47 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $3.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.73 billion. Sempra had a net margin of 22.63% and a return on equity of 8.06%. The firm’s revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.13 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Sempra will post 4.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sempra

In related news, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 2,755 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.93, for a total transaction of $225,717.15. Following the sale, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Jeffrey W. Martin sold 49,737 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.94, for a total transaction of $4,125,186.78. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2 shares in the company, valued at approximately $165.88. This trade represents a 100.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Sempra

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Lindbrook Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Sempra by 5.4% during the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 2,410 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $211,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Sempra by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 8,194 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $719,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the period. Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Sempra by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,585 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $227,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. MJP Associates Inc. ADV grew its position in shares of Sempra by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. MJP Associates Inc. ADV now owns 6,195 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $543,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. Finally, Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Sempra by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 2,639 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $232,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares in the last quarter. 89.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.