Analysts Set Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) Price Target at $95.42

Shares of Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) have received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the fourteen analysts that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $95.3333.

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Sempra Energy from $86.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 24th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Sempra Energy from $95.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Morgan Stanley set a $98.00 price target on shares of Sempra Energy in a research note on Thursday. Wall Street Zen upgraded Sempra Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 8th. Finally, BTIG Research upgraded Sempra Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 4,322 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.55, for a total value of $400,001.10. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 11,325 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,048,128.75. This represents a 27.62% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Caroline Ann Winn sold 5,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.58, for a total transaction of $503,690.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 34,164 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,128,739.12. The trade was a 13.87% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 55,129 shares of company stock valued at $4,809,916. Insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of SRE. Jacobi Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Sempra Energy by 10.3% in the first quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC now owns 5,641 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $403,000 after buying an additional 526 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Sempra Energy by 21.6% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 3,656,805 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $260,950,000 after purchasing an additional 648,530 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its position in shares of Sempra Energy by 7.0% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 3,495,527 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $249,435,000 after purchasing an additional 229,045 shares during the last quarter. Energy Income Partners LLC boosted its stake in Sempra Energy by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. Energy Income Partners LLC now owns 2,182,448 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $155,739,000 after purchasing an additional 52,838 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Panagora Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Sempra Energy by 46.0% during the 1st quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 37,501 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,676,000 after purchasing an additional 11,811 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Sempra Energy Stock Performance

SRE stock opened at $92.54 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.48 and a quick ratio of 0.41. Sempra Energy has a 1 year low of $61.90 and a 1 year high of $95.77. The company has a market cap of $60.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.68. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $90.46 and its 200-day moving average price is $82.54.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.11 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.84 by $0.27. The company had revenue of $3.15 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.99 billion. Sempra Energy had a return on equity of 8.42% and a net margin of 20.28%.Sempra Energy’s revenue was up 13.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.89 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Sempra Energy will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Sempra Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 11th will be given a dividend of $0.645 per share. This represents a $2.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 11th. Sempra Energy’s payout ratio is presently 79.14%.

About Sempra Energy

Sempra operates as an energy infrastructure company in the United States and internationally. It operates through three segments: Sempra California, Sempra Texas Utilities, and Sempra Infrastructure. The Sempra California segment provides electric services; and natural gas services to San Diego County.