Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Price Target Increased to $96.00 by Analysts at BMO Capital Markets

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) had its price target boosted by BMO Capital Markets from $93.00 to $96.00 in a research report report published on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Sempra from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Sempra from $87.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Sempra from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Bank of America started coverage on Sempra in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $94.00 target price for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $86.50.

Sempra Stock Up 1.1 %

NYSE:SRE opened at $85.96 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 0.46. The company has a market capitalization of $54.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.75. Sempra has a one year low of $66.40 and a one year high of $86.13. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $82.69 and a 200 day simple moving average of $77.97.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 the consensus estimate of $3.46 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.94 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Sempra will post 4.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 26th were given a dividend of $0.62 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 26th. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.89%. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio is presently 54.99%.

Institutional Trading of Sempra

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Sempra by 62.6% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 6,467 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $483,000 after purchasing an additional 2,490 shares in the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. acquired a new stake in shares of Sempra in the 1st quarter worth approximately $55,000. Park Avenue Securities LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Sempra by 1.7% in the first quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 17,906 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,286,000 after acquiring an additional 297 shares in the last quarter. Riverview Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Sempra in the first quarter valued at approximately $52,000. Finally, West Paces Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Sempra by 4.5% during the first quarter. West Paces Advisors Inc. now owns 10,265 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $737,000 after acquiring an additional 441 shares during the period. 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.