Karen Sedgwick Sells 4,872 Shares of Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) Stock

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) CFO Karen Sedgwick sold 4,872 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.58, for a total transaction of $451,049.76. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 39,029 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,613,304.82. This trade represents a 11.10% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

Sempra Energy Stock Performance

Shares of SRE stock opened at $92.97 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $60.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.69, a PEG ratio of 3.50 and a beta of 0.73. Sempra Energy has a one year low of $61.90 and a one year high of $97.44. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $90.45 and its 200-day simple moving average is $89.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 1.59.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $1.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.16. Sempra Energy had a return on equity of 8.22% and a net margin of 13.27%.The firm had revenue of $3.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.82 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.50 earnings per share. Sempra Energy’s quarterly revenue was down .2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Sempra Energy will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 19th will be given a dividend of $0.6575 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 19th. This represents a $2.63 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. This is an increase from Sempra Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. Sempra Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 95.29%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on SRE. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Sempra Energy in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Argus raised shares of Sempra Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Barclays set a $95.00 price target on shares of Sempra Energy and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $99.00 price target (up from $80.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a report on Monday, November 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $101.00 price objective on shares of Sempra Energy in a research report on Friday, February 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Sempra Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $100.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SRE. West Wealth Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy by 1.1% during the third quarter. West Wealth Group LLC now owns 10,207 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $942,000 after acquiring an additional 112 shares during the period. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO increased its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO now owns 6,911 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $622,000 after acquiring an additional 113 shares during the period. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,587 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $773,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares during the period. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton increased its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 5,191 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $458,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares during the period. Finally, Advisor OS LLC lifted its position in Sempra Energy by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Advisor OS LLC now owns 9,681 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $871,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. 89.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.