Insider Buying: Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) Director Buys $232,375.00 in Stock

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) Director Cynthia Warner acquired 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $92.95 per share, for a total transaction of $232,375.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 11,275 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,048,011.25. This trade represents a 28.49% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.

Sempra Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:SRE opened at $95.20 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $90.74 and a 200 day moving average of $89.57. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. The company has a market capitalization 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 52 week low of $61.90 and a 52 week high of $97.44.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $1.28 earnings per share (EPS) 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 business had revenue of $3.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.82 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.50 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Sempra Energy will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 given a dividend of $0.6575 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 19th. This is an increase from Sempra Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. This represents a $2.63 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. Sempra Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 95.29%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SRE has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $99.00 target price (up from $80.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a report on Monday, November 24th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Sempra Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 7th. Barclays set a $95.00 price target on shares of Sempra Energy and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $101.00 price objective on shares of Sempra Energy in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Sempra Energy in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Sempra Energy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $100.00.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sempra Energy

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Sempra Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $914,924,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Sempra Energy by 14.2% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 75,725,594 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,813,784,000 after acquiring an additional 9,396,652 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in Sempra Energy by 106.3% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 10,428,007 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $938,325,000 after acquiring an additional 5,374,277 shares during the period. Capital International Investors grew its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 4,572,312 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley grew its stake in Sempra Energy by 17.0% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 22,330,091 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,971,524,000 after purchasing an additional 3,250,783 shares during the last quarter. 89.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.