Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) Director Purchases $93,440.00 in Stock

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) Director Jennifer Kirk purchased 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 12th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $93.44 per share, for a total transaction of $93,440.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 1,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $93,440. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Sempra Energy Stock Performance

SRE opened at $95.20 on Monday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $90.74 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $89.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 1.59 and a quick ratio of 1.57. The firm has a market cap of $62.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.49, a PEG ratio of 3.56 and a beta of 0.73. Sempra Energy has a 1-year low of $61.90 and a 1-year high of $97.44.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $1.28 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.16. Sempra Energy had a net margin of 13.27% and a return on equity of 8.22%. 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 firm earned $1.50 EPS. The company’s revenue was down .2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities 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. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.6575 per share. This is a boost 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%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 19th. Sempra Energy’s payout ratio is 93.48%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on SRE shares. Argus raised Sempra Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Barclays set a $95.00 target price on Sempra Energy and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $101.00 price target on shares of Sempra Energy in a report on Friday, February 20th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Sempra Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Sempra Energy from $112.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Sempra Energy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $100.00.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sempra Energy

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. World Investment Advisors boosted its stake in Sempra Energy by 81.1% during the fourth quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 6,734 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $595,000 after buying an additional 3,016 shares during the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC increased its stake in Sempra Energy by 15.7% in the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 516,938 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $45,641,000 after acquiring an additional 70,055 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its stake in Sempra Energy by 10.4% in the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 2,483,473 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $219,295,000 after acquiring an additional 234,894 shares during the last quarter. Bayban purchased a new stake in shares of Sempra Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $47,000. Finally, Pure Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy by 29.2% during the 4th quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC now owns 46,776 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,130,000 after acquiring an additional 10,584 shares in the last quarter. 89.65% of the stock is owned by 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.