Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Hits New 52-Week High – Here’s What Happened

Sempra (NYSE:SRE)’s share price reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $93.12 and last traded at $92.63, with a volume of 100776 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $92.20.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on SRE shares. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Sempra from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Sempra from $93.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Bank of America started coverage on Sempra in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $94.00 target price on the stock. Barclays increased their target price on Sempra from $87.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Sempra in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $98.00 target price on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Sempra has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $89.00.

Sempra Trading Down 1.9 %

The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $84.17 and its 200-day simple moving average is $79.69. The company has a quick ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $57.28 billion, a PE ratio of 20.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.75.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by ($0.16). The firm had revenue of $2.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.54 billion. Sempra had a return on equity of 8.06% and a net margin of 22.63%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.08 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Sempra will post 4.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Sempra Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.62 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.74%. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.63%.

Institutional Trading of Sempra

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Sempra during the third quarter worth about $247,000. Erste Asset Management GmbH purchased a new stake in shares of Sempra during the third quarter worth about $2,707,000. Socorro Asset Management LP lifted its holdings in Sempra by 0.4% in the third quarter. Socorro Asset Management LP now owns 135,405 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $11,324,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the period. Point72 Europe London LLP purchased a new stake in Sempra in the third quarter worth about $12,242,000. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec lifted its holdings in Sempra by 6.0% in the third quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 5,290 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $442,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. 89.65% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.