Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Price Target Increased to $87.00 by Analysts at Barclays

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) had its target price hoisted by Barclays from $81.00 to $87.00 in a report published on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

SRE has been the topic of a number of other research reports. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH cut their target price on shares of Sempra from $81.50 to $79.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 29th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Sempra from $79.00 to $76.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 24th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on shares of Sempra from $86.00 to $84.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Sempra from $79.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Sempra from $79.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $83.00.

Sempra Price Performance

SRE opened at $78.51 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $49.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.41, a PEG ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a 50-day moving average of $76.92 and a 200-day moving average of $73.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 0.46. Sempra has a 1-year low of $63.75 and a 1-year high of $83.68.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.92 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $3.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.46 billion. Sempra had a return on equity of 8.52% and a net margin of 22.31%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.94 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Sempra will post 4.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Sempra

In related news, Director Richard J. Mark purchased 1,925 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 acquisition, the director now owns 5,420 shares in the company, valued at approximately $422,597.40. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, CAO Peter R. Wall sold 6,100 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 14,751 shares in the company, valued at $1,107,357.57. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Richard J. Mark acquired 1,925 shares of Sempra stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 17th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $77.97 per share, with a total value of $150,092.25. Following the transaction, 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. 0.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sempra

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Sempra by 6,656.3% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 47,902 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,580,000 after buying an additional 47,193 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Sempra by 108.8% during the 4th quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 9,888 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $739,000 after purchasing an additional 5,153 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC grew its holdings in Sempra by 15.2% in the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 94,030 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $7,032,000 after buying an additional 12,398 shares during the last quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sempra during the fourth quarter worth approximately $288,000. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new stake in shares of Sempra in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,847,000. 89.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.