Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Hits New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on SRE. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Sempra from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Sempra in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $98.00 price objective on the stock. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Sempra from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Bank of America initiated coverage on Sempra in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $94.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Sempra from $93.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Sempra presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $87.55.

Sempra Stock Up 7.3 %

The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $83.26 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $79.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84. The company has a market capitalization of $55.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.86, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.75.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $3.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.46 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.94 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Sempra will post 4.77 EPS for the current year.

Sempra Announces Dividend

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sempra

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Natixis Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Sempra by 35.7% during the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 594,683 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $49,733,000 after buying an additional 156,397 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in shares of Sempra by 9.7% during the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 10,744 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $899,000 after buying an additional 951 shares during the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC grew its stake in shares of Sempra by 2.2% during the third quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 21,519 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,800,000 after buying an additional 467 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its stake in shares of Sempra by 7.2% during the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 107,800 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $9,015,000 after buying an additional 7,198 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ING Groep NV bought a new position in Sempra in the third quarter worth approximately $13,173,000. 89.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.