Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Announces Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.03 EPS

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) posted its earnings results on Tuesday. The utilities provider reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.47 by $0.03, Briefing.com reports. Sempra had a return on equity of 8.06% and a net margin of 22.63%. The company had revenue of $3.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.73 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.13 earnings per share. Sempra’s quarterly revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year.

Sempra Stock Performance

NYSE:SRE traded down $0.41 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $72.44. 2,773,973 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,173,206. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.78. Sempra has a 52 week low of $64.89 and a 52 week high of $95.77. The company has a quick ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $83.71 and a 200-day simple moving average of $84.84.

Sempra Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.645 per share. This represents a $2.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.56%. 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%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on SRE. Guggenheim lowered their target price on Sempra from $95.00 to $87.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. UBS Group lowered Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $95.00 to $78.00 in a research note on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Sempra from $96.00 to $88.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Sempra from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Mizuho reduced their price target on Sempra from $92.00 to $76.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $84.54.

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 value of $225,717.15. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jeffrey W. Martin sold 49,737 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2 shares in the company, valued at approximately $165.88. This represents a 100.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.24% 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.