Jefferies Upgrades Sempra to Buy Citing Valuation and Regulatory Inflection in Texas and California

Jefferies upgraded Sempra Energy from Hold to Buy on September 1, 2026, calling conditions the "darkest before dawn in Texas and California" and setting a price target of $97, down from a prior target of $101. The upgrade was driven by valuation, with the firm signaling that headwinds from the California wildfire liability environment and Sempra's Texas utility operations are close to a turning point. Sempra shares rallied on the day of the upgrade.

The Jefferies call came alongside broader analyst activity on September 1, with Cramer also highlighting Sempra in his Stop Trading segment on CNBC. The upgrade gave SRE additional attention even as the revised price target reflected lingering caution about near-term regulatory and liability risks in both states. The move contrasted with concurrent downgrades of California utility peers PG&E and Edison International, which BofA Securities cut to Neutral with sharply reduced price targets, underscoring the diverging analyst sentiment across the sector.