Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Stock Rating Upgraded by Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE) from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating in a research report report published on Friday, Marketbeat reports. They currently have $98.00 price objective on the utilities provider’s stock, up from their previous price objective of $85.00.

SRE has been the topic of several other research reports. Barclays increased their target price on Sempra from $89.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Sempra from $93.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Sempra in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $98.00 target price for the company. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Sempra from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Bank of America began coverage on shares of Sempra in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $94.00 price objective for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $91.60.

Sempra Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE SRE opened at $89.16 on Friday. Sempra has a 52-week low of $66.40 and a 52-week high of $95.77. The stock has a market cap of $56.47 billion, a PE ratio of 19.64, a PEG ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.77. The business has a fifty day moving average of $88.08 and a two-hundred day moving average of $82.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a current ratio of 0.52.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by ($0.16). The firm had revenue of $2.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.54 billion. Sempra had a net margin of 22.63% and a return on equity of 8.06%. The business’s revenue was down 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.08 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Sempra will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.62 per share. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.78%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 5th. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio is presently 54.63%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Trevor I. Mihalik sold 23,713 shares of Sempra stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.09, for a total transaction of $2,207,443.17. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 11,190 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,041,677.10. This trade represents a 67.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sempra

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Perennial Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Sempra by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter. Perennial Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,963 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $377,000 after acquiring an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC raised its position in Sempra by 1.6% during the third quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 8,742 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $731,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Sempra by 4.0% in the 2nd quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,794 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $289,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares during the period. Lester Murray Antman dba SimplyRich increased its position in Sempra by 1.2% during the second quarter. Lester Murray Antman dba SimplyRich now owns 12,558 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $955,000 after buying an additional 152 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Conning Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Sempra by 3.8% during the 2nd quarter. Conning Inc. now owns 4,184 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $318,000 after acquiring an additional 154 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.