Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Declares Quarterly Dividend of $0.62

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) announced a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, May 14th, RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 27th will be paid a dividend of 0.62 per share by the utilities provider on Monday, July 15th. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 27th.

Sempra has increased its dividend by an average of 4.4% per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 21 consecutive years. Sempra has a payout ratio of 48.2% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Sempra to earn $5.12 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.48 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 48.4%.

Sempra Price Performance

Shares of SRE traded down $0.24 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $75.20. 301,670 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,995,369. Sempra has a one year low of $63.75 and a one year high of $78.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.62 and a quick ratio of 0.57. The firm has a market cap of $47.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.61, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.74. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $74.78 and a 200-day moving average of $72.97.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.35 by ($0.01). Sempra had a return on equity of 8.95% and a net margin of 20.99%. The business had revenue of $3.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.58 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.46 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 44.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Sempra will post 4.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Peter R. Wall sold 6,100 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 14,751 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,107,357.57. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, CAO Peter R. Wall sold 6,100 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 14,751 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,107,357.57. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Richard J. Mark acquired 1,925 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 17th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $77.97 per share, with a total value of $150,092.25. Following the purchase, the director now owns 5,420 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $422,597.40. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SRE has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH cut their price objective on Sempra from $81.50 to $79.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 29th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Sempra from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Sempra from $79.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Sempra from $79.00 to $76.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Finally, Mizuho upped their target price on Sempra from $79.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $82.10.

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.