Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Downgraded by Argus to “Hold”

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) was downgraded by equities researchers at Argus from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on shares of Sempra from $92.00 to $78.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. UBS Group lowered shares of Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $95.00 to $78.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and set a $77.00 target price (down from $96.00) on shares of Sempra in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group cut Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $99.00 to $76.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Guggenheim lowered their price objective on Sempra from $95.00 to $87.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $81.50.

Sempra Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of Sempra stock opened at $71.06 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $78.80 and a 200 day moving average price of $83.75. The company has a current ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. Sempra has a twelve month low of $64.89 and a twelve month high of $95.77. The stock has a market cap of $46.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.76.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.47 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $3.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.73 billion. Sempra had a return on equity of 8.06% and a net margin of 22.63%. The company’s revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.13 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Sempra will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Sempra news, CEO Jeffrey W. Martin sold 49,737 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.94, for a total value of $4,125,186.78. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $165.88. This trade represents a 100.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 2,755 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.93, for a total value of $225,717.15. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 13,905 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,139,236.65. This trade represents a 16.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have bought 9,319 shares of company stock worth $651,676 over the last ninety days. 0.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sempra

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new position in shares of Sempra during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in Sempra in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Sempra in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. TCTC Holdings LLC increased its stake in shares of Sempra by 265.2% in the fourth quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 336 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 244 shares during the period. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Sempra during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. 89.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.