Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Sets New 12-Month High – What’s Next?

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) shares reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $84.49 and last traded at $84.42, with a volume of 1210909 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $83.15.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SRE has been the subject of several recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Sempra from $90.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Sempra from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Barclays upped their price target on Sempra from $87.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Bank of America initiated coverage on Sempra in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $94.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Sempra from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $86.20.

Sempra Stock Up 1.1 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 0.46. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $81.68 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $77.32. The company has a market cap of $52.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 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 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.92 by ($0.03). Sempra had a net margin of 22.31% and a return on equity of 8.58%. 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 company posted $0.94 EPS. Sempra’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Sempra will post 4.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 26th will be paid a dividend of $0.62 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 26th. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.95%. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.99%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sempra

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SRE. Family Firm Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Sempra in the second quarter worth approximately $30,000. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in Sempra during the 2nd quarter valued at $33,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. purchased a new position in Sempra during the 2nd quarter worth $34,000. SouthState Corp boosted its holdings in Sempra by 900.0% during 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 purchased a new stake in shares of Sempra in the second quarter valued at about $39,000. Institutional investors 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.