Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $0.17 EPS

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The utilities provider reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by ($0.17), Briefing.com reports. Sempra had a net margin of 22.31% and a return on equity of 8.58%. The business had revenue of $2.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.54 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.08 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 16.7% on a year-over-year basis.

Sempra Stock Performance

SRE stock traded up $1.64 during trading on Thursday, reaching $89.90. The stock had a trading volume of 2,402,009 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,878,591. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $83.26 and its two-hundred day moving average is $79.00. The firm has a market cap of $56.92 billion, a PE ratio of 18.88, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.75. Sempra has a 52 week low of $66.40 and a 52 week high of $90.13. The company has a current ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84.

Sempra Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 26th were issued a $0.62 dividend. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 26th. Sempra’s payout ratio is currently 52.99%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Sempra from $87.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Sempra from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Bank of America assumed coverage on Sempra in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $94.00 price objective on the stock. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Sempra from $93.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Sempra from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $89.00.

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.