Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Cut to Equal Weight at Barclays

Barclays cut shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE) from an overweight rating to an equal weight rating in a report issued on Thursday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage currently has $72.00 price objective on the utilities provider’s stock, down from their previous price objective of $95.00.

SRE has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Sempra from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $99.00 to $76.00 in a research report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Sempra from $100.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Guggenheim reduced their price target on Sempra from $95.00 to $87.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Sempra from $96.00 to $88.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $84.54.

Sempra Price Performance

SRE opened at $71.50 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $83.13 and its 200 day moving average price is $84.75. Sempra has a 12-month low of $64.89 and a 12-month high of $95.77. The company has a current ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The firm has a market cap of $45.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.75, a PEG ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.78.

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

Sempra Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.645 per share. This represents a $2.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.61%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 20th. This is an increase from Sempra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 56.11%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of SRE. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new position in shares of Sempra in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Sempra in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sempra in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. TCTC Holdings LLC increased its holdings in shares of Sempra by 265.2% in the fourth quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 336 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 244 shares during the period. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Sempra in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.