Wells Fargo & Company Lowers Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Price Target to $88.00

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) had its price objective decreased by equities research analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $96.00 to $88.00 in a research note issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “overweight” rating on the utilities provider’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s target price would indicate a potential upside of 26.99% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on SRE. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Sempra from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Sempra from $99.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $99.00 to $76.00 in a research report on Wednesday. UBS Group downgraded shares of Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the company from $95.00 to $78.00 in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Sempra from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $85.00 to $98.00 in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $88.17.

Sempra Price Performance

NYSE SRE opened at $69.30 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $43.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.52 and a quick ratio of 0.47. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $83.96 and its two-hundred day moving average is $84.93. Sempra has a fifty-two week low of $64.89 and a fifty-two week high of $95.77.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.47 by $0.03. Sempra had a net margin of 22.63% and a return on equity of 8.06%. The firm had revenue of $3.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.73 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.13 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Sempra will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Jeffrey W. Martin sold 49,737 shares of Sempra stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.94, for a total transaction of $4,125,186.78. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $165.88. The trade was a 100.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 2,755 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.93, for a total value of $225,717.15. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 13,905 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,139,236.65. This represents a 16.54 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sempra

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Lindbrook Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Sempra by 5.4% during the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 2,410 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $211,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Sempra by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 8,194 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $719,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Sempra by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,585 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $227,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. MJP Associates Inc. ADV increased its stake in Sempra by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. MJP Associates Inc. ADV now owns 6,195 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $543,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Sempra by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 2,639 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $232,000 after buying an additional 126 shares during the last quarter. 89.65% of the stock is currently 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.