Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Price Target Cut to $87.00 by Analysts at Guggenheim

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) had its target price lowered by Guggenheim from $95.00 to $87.00 in a report issued on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. Guggenheim currently has a buy rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Sempra from $96.00 to $88.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Mizuho dropped their price objective on shares of Sempra from $92.00 to $76.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $99.00 to $76.00 in a research report on Wednesday. UBS Group lowered shares of Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $95.00 to $78.00 in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Sempra from $100.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $86.31.

Sempra Stock Performance

Shares of SRE stock opened at $72.70 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $46.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.01, 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. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $83.71 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $84.84. Sempra has a one year low of $64.89 and a one year 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 the consensus estimate of $1.47 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $3.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.73 billion. Sempra had a net margin of 22.63% and a return on equity of 8.06%. The company’s revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.13 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Sempra will post 4.76 EPS for the current year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Jeffrey W. Martin sold 49,737 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2 shares in the company, valued at approximately $165.88. This trade represents a 100.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 2,755 shares of the firm’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 transaction of $225,717.15. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 13,905 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,139,236.65. The trade was a 16.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sempra

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Sempra in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Sempra in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sempra in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. TCTC Holdings LLC boosted its stake in shares of Sempra by 265.2% in the 4th quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 336 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 244 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Sempra in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. 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.