Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Reaches New 12-Month High – Should You Buy?

Shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $95.29 and last traded at $95.29, with a volume of 1431 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $94.27.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Sempra from $93.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of 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 raised their price objective on Sempra from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Bank of America started coverage on shares of Sempra in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $94.00 price target for the company. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Sempra in a report on Thursday, October 24th. They set a “buy” rating and a $98.00 price objective on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $89.00.

Sempra Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The business has a fifty day moving average of $86.07 and a 200 day moving average of $80.97. The firm has a market cap of $59.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.55, a PEG ratio of 2.60 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 $1.05 by ($0.16). Sempra had a return on equity of 8.06% and a net margin of 22.63%. The business had revenue of $2.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.54 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.08 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Sempra will post 4.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Sempra Dividend Announcement

The company 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. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.66%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 5th. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio is presently 54.63%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Trevor I. Mihalik sold 23,713 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.09, for a total value of $2,207,443.17. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 11,190 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,041,677.10. This represents a 67.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Synovus Financial Corp grew its position in Sempra by 5.9% during the third quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 6,846 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $573,000 after buying an additional 383 shares in the last quarter. Blankinship & Foster LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sempra during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,338,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in shares of Sempra during the 3rd quarter worth $380,000. World Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Sempra in the third quarter worth $6,029,000. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC raised its stake in Sempra by 14.4% in the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 190,714 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $15,949,000 after purchasing an additional 23,970 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

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.