Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Saturday.

SRE has been the subject of several other research reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped 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. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $100.00 price objective (up from $96.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a report on Friday, March 6th. Argus upgraded shares of Sempra Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Sempra Energy from $98.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 18th. Finally, 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $100.73.

Sempra Energy Price Performance

Shares of SRE opened at $93.43 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $91.53 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $90.20. The firm has a market cap of $61.03 billion, a PE ratio of 33.85, a P/E/G ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a current ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. Sempra Energy has a 1-year low of $61.90 and a 1-year high of $97.44.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $1.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 last year, the business posted $1.50 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Sempra Energy will post 4.76 EPS for the current year.

Sempra Energy Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Cynthia J. Warner bought 2,500 shares of Sempra Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $92.95 per share, with a total value of $232,375.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 11,275 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,048,011.25. The trade was a 28.49% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Richard J. Mark purchased 2,692 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $93.30 per share, for a total transaction of $251,163.60. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 17,376 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,621,180.80. This represents a 18.33% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders bought a total of 6,192 shares of company stock worth $576,979 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in Sempra Energy during the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Ares Financial Consulting LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Sempra Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd grew its position in shares of Sempra Energy by 57.7% during the fourth quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd now owns 347 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in Sempra Energy by 83.0% during the 4th 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 period. Finally, Key Financial Inc raised its stake in Sempra Energy by 73.6% during the 4th 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 period. Institutional investors own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

About Sempra Energy

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.