Morgan Stanley Increases Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Price Target to $85.00

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) had its price objective hoisted by Morgan Stanley from $80.00 to $85.00 in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an equal weight rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

SRE has been the subject of a number of other reports. Barclays raised their target price on Sempra from $81.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Sempra from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH reduced their target price on shares of Sempra from $81.50 to $79.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 29th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Sempra from $90.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Finally, Bank of America started coverage on shares of Sempra in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They set a buy rating and a $94.00 price target on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $85.42.

Sempra Stock Performance

SRE opened at $83.25 on Wednesday. Sempra has a twelve month low of $63.75 and a twelve month high of $84.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $52.46 billion, a PE ratio of 18.46, a PEG ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a current ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $80.88 and its 200 day moving average price is $76.23.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.92 by ($0.03). Sempra had a return on equity of 8.58% and a net margin of 22.31%. The company had revenue of $3.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.46 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.94 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Sempra will post 4.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 26th will be given a dividend of $0.62 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 26th. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.98%. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.99%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sempra

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in Sempra by 12.1% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 27,123,899 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,026,969,000 after acquiring an additional 2,917,668 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in shares of Sempra by 5,279.4% in the first quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,583,816 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $113,591,000 after purchasing an additional 1,554,374 shares in the last quarter. M&G Plc purchased a new stake in Sempra during the 1st quarter worth approximately $64,994,000. Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its stake in Sempra by 6.9% during the 2nd quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 13,452,912 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,023,228,000 after buying an additional 874,133 shares during the period. Finally, Zimmer Partners LP lifted its holdings in Sempra by 96.9% during the 1st quarter. Zimmer Partners LP now owns 1,636,202 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $117,528,000 after buying an additional 805,084 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.