Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Downgraded to Neutral Rating by The Goldman Sachs Group

The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE) from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a research note published on Wednesday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. The Goldman Sachs Group currently has $76.00 target price on the utilities provider’s stock, down from their previous target price of $99.00.

SRE has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Sempra from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Sempra from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Morgan Stanley upgraded Sempra from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $85.00 to $98.00 in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on Sempra from $99.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Sempra currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $86.31.

Sempra Trading Up 2.9 %

Shares of Sempra stock opened at $72.70 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $46.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.01, a PEG ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.78. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $83.71 and a 200-day moving average price of $84.84. The company has a quick ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.52 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.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.47 by $0.03. Sempra had a return on equity of 8.06% and a net margin of 22.63%. The firm had revenue of $3.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.73 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.13 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Sempra will post 4.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.645 per share. This is a positive change from Sempra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. This represents a $2.58 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 20th. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio is presently 56.11%.

Insider Transactions at Sempra

In related news, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 2,755 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.93, for a total transaction of $225,717.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now 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 document filed 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $165.88. This trade represents a 100.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Sempra

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Sempra during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in Sempra in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Sempra in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. TCTC Holdings LLC increased its stake in 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. acquired a new position in Sempra in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. 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.