Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) Reaches New 52-Week High – Here’s Why

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $97.50 and last traded at $97.2010, with a volume of 265266 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $95.88.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. 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. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Sempra Energy from $113.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, March 23rd. Wall Street Zen downgraded Sempra Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Sunday. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $101.00 target price on shares of Sempra Energy in a report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Sempra Energy in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $100.73.

Sempra Energy Trading Up 0.6%

The firm has a market cap of $63.49 billion, a PE ratio of 35.21, a P/E/G ratio of 3.66 and a beta of 0.73. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $92.11 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $90.79. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $1.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $3.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.82 billion. Sempra Energy had a net margin of 13.27% and a return on equity of 8.22%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.50 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Sempra Energy will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 19th will be issued a $0.6575 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 19th. This represents a $2.63 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. This is an increase from Sempra Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. Sempra Energy’s payout ratio is 95.29%.

Insider Transactions at Sempra Energy

In other Sempra Energy news, Director Richard J. Mark bought 2,692 shares of Sempra Energy stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was bought at an average price of $93.30 per share, with a total value of $251,163.60. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 17,376 shares in the company, valued at $1,621,180.80. The trade was a 18.33% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Jennifer M. Kirk bought 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 12th. The shares were bought at an average price of $93.44 per share, for a total transaction of $93,440.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 1,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $93,440. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders bought 6,192 shares of company stock valued at $576,979. 0.27% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sempra Energy

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Sempra Energy by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 76,734,070 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,774,907,000 after buying an additional 1,008,476 shares during the period. Capital International Investors lifted its position in shares of Sempra Energy by 9.2% during the 3rd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 54,071,206 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,865,115,000 after acquiring an additional 4,572,312 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Sempra Energy by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 36,810,449 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,273,460,000 after acquiring an additional 1,824,280 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley boosted its stake in shares of Sempra Energy by 17.0% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 22,330,091 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,971,524,000 after acquiring an additional 3,250,783 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Sempra Energy by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,298,845 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,256,592,000 after acquiring an additional 116,554 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

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.