Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Reaches New 1-Year Low – Here’s Why

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) reached a new 52-week low during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $64.89 and last traded at $70.67, with a volume of 29509677 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $87.18.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SRE has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley upgraded Sempra from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $85.00 to $98.00 in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Sempra from $99.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Sempra from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Sempra from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $91.20.

Sempra Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $44.76 billion, a PE ratio of 15.57, a PEG ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a 50-day moving average of $83.96 and a 200-day moving average of $84.93. 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 (NYSE:SRE) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.47 by $0.03. Sempra had a net margin of 22.63% and a return on equity of 8.06%. The company had revenue of $3.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.73 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.13 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Sempra will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 20th will be given a $0.645 dividend. This represents a $2.58 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.65%. This is a boost from Sempra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. Sempra’s payout ratio is currently 54.63%.

Insider Activity

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 transaction of $4,125,186.78. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2 shares in the company, valued at $165.88. This trade represents a 100.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 2,755 shares of the company’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 value of $225,717.15. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Sempra

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Sempra in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,535,000,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of Sempra by 11.9% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 38,407,154 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,369,076,000 after purchasing an additional 4,082,261 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of Sempra by 70.6% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,666,240 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $584,763,000 after purchasing an additional 2,758,037 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its stake in Sempra by 71.3% in the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 4,651,923 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $408,069,000 after purchasing an additional 1,936,865 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC lifted its position in Sempra by 9.1% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 18,978,605 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,587,181,000 after purchasing an additional 1,582,653 shares during 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.