Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Price Target Lowered to $85.00 at Morgan Stanley

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) had its price objective lowered by investment analysts at Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $85.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “overweight” rating on the utilities provider’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 16.32% from the company’s current price.

A number of other research analysts have also commented on SRE. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Sempra from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered 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. The Goldman Sachs Group cut Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $99.00 to $76.00 in a research report on Wednesday. Barclays lowered their price target on Sempra from $99.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, UBS Group cut Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $95.00 to $78.00 in a research report on Wednesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $87.08.

Sempra Stock Performance

Shares of SRE stock traded up $2.43 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $73.07. 5,183,098 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,944,248. Sempra has a fifty-two week low of $64.89 and a fifty-two week high of $95.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $46.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.10, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.78. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $83.96 and a 200-day moving average price of $84.93. 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 earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.47 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $3.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.73 billion. Sempra had a return on equity of 8.06% and a net margin of 22.63%. Sempra’s revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.13 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Sempra will post 4.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Sempra

In other news, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 2,755 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $1,139,236.65. This represents a 16.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Jeffrey W. Martin sold 49,737 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were 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 directly owns 2 shares in the company, valued at $165.88. This trade represents a 100.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sempra

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Sempra by 33.4% in the fourth quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 9,798 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $866,000 after buying an additional 2,453 shares during the period. Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new position in Sempra in the fourth quarter valued at about $154,000. Putney Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Sempra in the fourth quarter valued at about $90,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its stake in Sempra by 42.6% in the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 493,771 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $43,314,000 after buying an additional 147,495 shares during the period. Finally, Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Sempra in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,647,000. 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.