Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $0.01 EPS

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) announced its earnings results on Tuesday. The utilities provider reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.35 by ($0.01), Briefing.com reports. Sempra had a net margin of 18.26% and a return on equity of 9.45%. The company had revenue of $3.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.58 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.46 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 44.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sempra updated its FY24 guidance to $4.60-4.90 EPS and its FY25 guidance to $4.90-5.25 EPS.

Sempra Stock Up 1.6 %

NYSE SRE traded up $1.19 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $75.18. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,368,779 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,942,967. The company has a current ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $47.53 billion, a PE ratio of 15.66, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.70. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $70.74 and a 200-day moving average price of $71.86. Sempra has a 1-year low of $63.75 and a 1-year high of $78.70.

Sempra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 21st were paid a $0.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 20th. This is a boost from Sempra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.30%. Sempra’s payout ratio is 51.77%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Sempra from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Sempra from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $76.00 to $84.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Sempra from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of Sempra from $83.00 to $79.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Sempra from $79.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $82.23.

Insider Transactions at Sempra

In related news, insider Diana L. Day sold 3,937 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.21, for a total transaction of $280,353.77. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 18,145 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,292,105.45. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Sempra news, insider Diana L. Day sold 3,937 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.21, for a total value of $280,353.77. Following the sale, the insider now owns 18,145 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,292,105.45. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP Trevor I. Mihalik sold 57,571 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.59, for a total transaction of $4,063,936.89. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 10,922 shares in the company, valued at approximately $770,983.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 122,432 shares of company stock worth $8,668,035. 0.27% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.