Wells Fargo & Company Lowers Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Price Target to $85.00

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) had its price objective cut by equities research analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $88.00 to $85.00 in a research report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “overweight” rating on the utilities provider’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price target indicates a potential upside of 22.66% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $77.00 price target (down previously from $96.00) on shares of Sempra in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of Sempra from $92.00 to $78.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Barclays lowered shares of Sempra from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $95.00 to $72.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Sempra from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, UBS Group downgraded Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $95.00 to $78.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Sempra currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $81.33.

Sempra Stock Performance

NYSE SRE opened at $69.30 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $78.05 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $83.40. Sempra has a 12-month low of $64.89 and a 12-month high of $95.77. The company has a market capitalization of $45.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.26, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a quick ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director James C. Yardley purchased 5,019 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $69.74 per share, for a total transaction of $350,025.06. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 5,019 shares in the company, valued at $350,025.06. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Michael N. Mears acquired 1,000 shares of Sempra stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $67.70 per share, for a total transaction of $67,700.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 5,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $338,500. The trade was a 25.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have purchased 9,319 shares of company stock valued at $651,676. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sempra

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Lindbrook Capital LLC grew its holdings in Sempra by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 2,410 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $211,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares during the period. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC grew its stake in Sempra by 1.5% during the fourth 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 during the period. Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Sempra by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,585 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $227,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. MJP Associates Inc. ADV increased its holdings in Sempra by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. MJP Associates Inc. ADV now owns 6,195 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $543,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Sempra by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 2,639 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $232,000 after buying an additional 126 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.