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

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $86.79 and last traded at $86.60, with a volume of 3047143 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $82.25.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on SRE shares. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Sempra from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Sempra from $87.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Sempra from $93.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Sempra in a report on Thursday, October 24th. They set a “buy” rating and a $98.00 target price for the company. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Sempra from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Sempra currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $87.55.

Sempra Trading Up 7.3 %

The firm has a market cap of $55.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.75. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $83.26 and a 200 day simple moving average of $79.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 0.46.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.92 by ($0.03). Sempra had a return on equity of 8.58% and a net margin of 22.31%. The firm had revenue of $3.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.46 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.94 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Sempra will post 4.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 26th were issued a $0.62 dividend. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.81%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 26th. Sempra’s payout ratio is currently 52.99%.

Institutional Trading of Sempra

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of SRE. GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new stake in Sempra during the first quarter valued at about $815,000. Magnetar Financial LLC bought a new stake in Sempra during the first quarter valued at about $2,293,000. Forsta AP Fonden grew its holdings in Sempra by 13.7% during the first quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 117,200 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $8,418,000 after purchasing an additional 14,100 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its holdings in Sempra by 249.9% during the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 155,854 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $11,195,000 after purchasing an additional 111,314 shares during the period. Finally, Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd grew its holdings in Sempra by 319.5% during the second quarter. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd now owns 196,954 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $14,980,000 after purchasing an additional 150,000 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

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.