Insider Buying: Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) Director Acquires $251,163.60 in Stock

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) Director Richard Mark bought 2,692 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $93.30 per share, for a total transaction of $251,163.60. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 17,376 shares in the company, valued at $1,621,180.80. This trade represents a 18.33% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Sempra Energy Stock Performance

Shares of SRE stock opened at $95.20 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $90.74 and a 200-day simple moving average of $89.57. The company has a market cap of $62.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.49 and a beta of 0.73. Sempra Energy has a 12-month low of $61.90 and a 12-month high of $97.44.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $1.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.82 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.50 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Sempra Energy will post 4.76 EPS for the current year.

Sempra Energy Increases Dividend

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Sempra Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Ares Financial Consulting LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Sempra Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy by 57.7% in the fourth quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd now owns 347 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Sempra Energy by 83.0% in the fourth quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 355 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Key Financial Inc grew its position in shares of Sempra Energy by 73.6% in the fourth quarter. Key Financial Inc now owns 361 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on SRE shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Sempra Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, March 7th. Barclays set a $95.00 price objective on shares of Sempra Energy and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $101.00 target price on shares of Sempra Energy in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Sempra Energy in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Sempra Energy from $112.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Sempra Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $100.00.

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.