Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the fourteen brokerages that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $96.1667.

SRE has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group set a $96.00 target price on Sempra Energy and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Sempra Energy from $101.00 to $98.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Sempra Energy in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Sempra Energy from $95.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $89.00 target price on shares of Sempra Energy and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Dyan Z. Wold sold 1,510 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.38, for a total transaction of $137,983.80. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 3,481 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $318,093.78. This trade represents a 30.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 4,322 shares of Sempra Energy stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.55, for a total value of $400,001.10. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 11,325 shares in the company, valued at $1,048,128.75. This trade represents a 27.62% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 19,396 shares of company stock valued at $1,785,606. Insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Sempra Energy

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of SRE. AA Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. AA Financial Advisors LLC now owns 4,801 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $424,000 after buying an additional 215 shares during the period. Cypress Wealth Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy by 6.1% during the fourth quarter. Cypress Wealth Services LLC now owns 3,428 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $303,000 after acquiring an additional 198 shares during the period. USA Financial Formulas bought a new stake in Sempra Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $663,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its stake in Sempra Energy by 12.5% in the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 3,024 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $267,000 after purchasing an additional 337 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Sempra Energy in the 4th quarter worth $658,000. 89.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Sempra Energy Stock Performance

Shares of Sempra Energy stock opened at $91.18 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $90.14 and a two-hundred day moving average of $86.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $59.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.97, a PEG ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.74. Sempra Energy has a 52 week low of $61.90 and a 52 week high of $95.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 1.56 and a current ratio of 1.59.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.11 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.84 by $0.27. Sempra Energy had a return on equity of 8.67% and a net margin of 15.63%.The company had revenue of $3.15 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.99 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.89 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 13.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Sempra Energy will post 4.76 EPS for the current year.

Sempra Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.645 per share. This represents a $2.58 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 11th. Sempra Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 79.14%.

Sempra Energy Company Profile

Sempra Energy is a San Diego–based energy infrastructure company that develops, owns and operates businesses delivering electricity and natural gas. Its operations include regulated utility services that provide electric and gas distribution to residential, commercial and industrial customers, as well as non‑regulated infrastructure businesses that develop and manage large-scale energy assets.

The company’s product and service portfolio spans electricity and natural gas delivery, transmission and storage, liquefied natural gas (LNG) facilities, power generation and electric transmission projects.