Morgan Stanley Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Stock

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) had its price objective upped by analysts at Morgan Stanley from $85.00 to $86.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “overweight” rating on the utilities provider’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 22.99% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other analysts have also commented on SRE. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $77.00 target price (down from $96.00) on shares of Sempra in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. UBS Group lowered Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $95.00 to $78.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $99.00 to $76.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Argus lowered Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Guggenheim decreased their price objective on Sempra from $95.00 to $87.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $81.58.

Sempra Stock Down 0.7 %

Sempra stock traded down $0.53 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $69.92. The stock had a trading volume of 1,495,291 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,511,096. Sempra has a 12 month low of $64.89 and a 12 month high of $95.77. The company has a market capitalization of $45.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.40, a PEG ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $78.80 and a two-hundred 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 (NYSE:SRE) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $1.50 EPS 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 business had revenue of $3.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.73 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.13 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Sempra will post 4.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Sempra

In other Sempra news, Director Michael N. Mears bought 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $67.70 per share, for a total transaction of $67,700.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 5,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $338,500. This represents a 25.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jeffrey W. Martin sold 49,737 shares of the company’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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2 shares in the company, valued at approximately $165.88. The trade was a 100.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have acquired 9,319 shares of company stock worth $651,676 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sempra

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Lindbrook Capital LLC lifted its stake in Sempra by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 2,410 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $211,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC lifted its stake in Sempra by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 8,194 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $719,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Sempra by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,585 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $227,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. MJP Associates Inc. ADV lifted its position in shares of Sempra by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. MJP Associates Inc. ADV now owns 6,195 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $543,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Sempra by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 2,639 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $232,000 after acquiring an additional 126 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.