Sempra (NYSE:SRE – Get Free Report) announced a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, February 25th, RTT News reports. Investors of record on Thursday, March 20th will be given a dividend of 0.645 per share by the utilities provider on Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $2.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.63%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 20th. This is a 4.0% increase from Sempra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62.
Sempra has raised its dividend payment by an average of 4.1% annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 22 years. Sempra has a payout ratio of 51.4% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Sempra to earn $5.14 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.58 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 50.2%.
Sempra Stock Up 1.2 %
SRE opened at $71.03 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $79.31 and a 200 day moving average price of $83.92. The company has a market cap of $46.27 billion, a PE ratio of 15.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.76. Sempra has a 1 year low of $64.89 and a 1 year high of $95.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a current ratio of 0.52.
Insider Buying and Selling
In related news, CEO Jeffrey W. Martin sold 49,737 shares of the company’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 position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Pablo Ferrero acquired 2,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $70.96 per share, with a total value of $184,496.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 15,649 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,110,453.04. This trade represents a 19.92 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have bought a total of 9,319 shares of company stock valued at $651,676 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. UBS Group cut Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $95.00 to $78.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Mizuho decreased their price target on Sempra from $92.00 to $76.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $99.00 to $76.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on Sempra from $92.00 to $78.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $77.00 target price (down from $96.00) on shares of Sempra in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Sempra presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $81.50.
Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on Sempra
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.
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