Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Hits New 52-Week High at $81.06

Sempra (NYSE:SRE)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $81.06 and last traded at $80.50, with a volume of 72144 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $80.06.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on SRE shares. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on Sempra from $86.00 to $84.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Sempra from $79.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 8th. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Sempra from $79.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH dropped their price objective on Sempra from $81.50 to $79.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Sempra from $79.00 to $76.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, June 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $82.10.

Sempra Stock Up 0.5 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $50.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a current ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $76.37 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $73.34.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.35 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $3.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.58 billion. Sempra had a return on equity of 8.95% and a net margin of 20.99%. The business’s revenue was down 44.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.46 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Sempra will post 4.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 27th were given a dividend of $0.62 per share. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.08%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 27th. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.99%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Peter R. Wall sold 6,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.07, for a total transaction of $457,927.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 14,751 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,107,357.57. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Sempra news, CAO Peter R. Wall sold 6,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.07, for a total value of $457,927.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 14,751 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,107,357.57. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Richard J. Mark bought 1,925 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 17th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $77.97 per share, for a total transaction of $150,092.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 5,420 shares in the company, valued at $422,597.40. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sempra

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in SRE. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in shares of Sempra by 122.8% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,399 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $105,000 after purchasing an additional 771 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Sempra in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $222,000. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its holdings in shares of Sempra by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 45,183 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,377,000 after acquiring an additional 1,050 shares during the last quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc increased its holdings in shares of Sempra by 34.5% in the 4th quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 600 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 154 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State of Michigan Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of Sempra by 16.8% in the 4th quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 201,520 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $15,060,000 after acquiring an additional 29,000 shares during the last quarter. 89.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.