Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Announces Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $0.17 EPS

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) announced its earnings results on Wednesday. The utilities provider reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by ($0.17), Briefing.com reports. Sempra had a net margin of 22.31% and a return on equity of 8.58%. The company had revenue of $2.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.54 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.08 EPS. Sempra’s quarterly revenue was down 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year.

Sempra Stock Up 1.4 %

NYSE SRE traded up $1.27 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $89.53. 2,780,771 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,880,345. The company has a current ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84. Sempra has a 1-year low of $66.40 and a 1-year high of $90.13. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $83.26 and a 200-day simple moving average of $79.00. The company has a market cap of $56.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.88, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.75.

Sempra Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 26th were paid a $0.62 dividend. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.77%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 26th. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 52.99%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on SRE. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Sempra from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Sempra from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Sempra from $93.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Sempra from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Sempra in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. They set a “buy” rating and a $98.00 price target on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Sempra has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $89.00.

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.