Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE) have been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the eleven brokerages that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $85.00.

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on SRE. Bank of America began coverage on Sempra in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $94.00 price objective for the company. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH cut their price target on Sempra from $81.50 to $79.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 29th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Sempra from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Sempra from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Sempra from $81.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 13th.

Sempra Price Performance

NYSE:SRE opened at $82.51 on Friday. 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 has a fifty day simple moving average of $80.27 and a 200 day simple moving average of $75.80. Sempra has a 1-year low of $63.75 and a 1-year high of $84.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $52.24 billion, a PE ratio of 18.27, a P/E/G ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.75.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.92 by ($0.03). Sempra had a net margin of 22.31% and a return on equity of 8.58%. The firm had revenue of $3.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.46 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.94 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Sempra will post 4.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 26th will be given a dividend of $0.62 per share. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 26th. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.93%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sempra

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of SRE. Family Firm Inc. bought a new position in Sempra in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Sempra in the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. bought a new stake in Sempra during the 2nd quarter valued at $34,000. SouthState Corp raised its holdings in shares of Sempra by 900.0% in the 2nd quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 470 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 423 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Sempra in the second quarter valued at approximately $39,000. 89.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.