Brokerages Set Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) Price Target at $96.17

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) has earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the fourteen ratings firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $96.1667.

A number of research firms have recently commented on SRE. Barclays lowered their price target on Sempra Energy from $101.00 to $98.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 6th. Evercore ISI set a $105.00 target price on Sempra Energy and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 6th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $89.00 target price on shares of Sempra Energy and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Sempra Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, November 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of Sempra Energy in a research report on Monday, October 27th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $115.00 price objective for the company.

Sempra Energy Price Performance

SRE stock opened at $89.12 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $90.21 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $85.98. The firm has a market cap of $58.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.34, a P/E/G ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a quick ratio of 1.56, a current ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. Sempra Energy has a 12 month low of $61.90 and a 12 month high of $95.72.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.84 by $0.27. Sempra Energy had a net margin of 15.63% and a return on equity of 8.67%. The business had revenue of $3.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.99 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.89 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Sempra Energy will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 11th will be paid a $0.645 dividend. This represents a $2.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 11th. Sempra Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 79.14%.

Insider Transactions at Sempra Energy

In related news, CAO Dyan Z. Wold sold 1,510 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.38, for a total transaction of $137,983.80. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 3,481 shares in the company, valued at $318,093.78. The trade was a 30.25% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 4,322 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.55, for a total value of $400,001.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 11,325 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,048,128.75. The trade was a 27.62% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 19,396 shares of company stock worth $1,785,606. Insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sempra Energy

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SRE. Peak Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Sempra Energy by 190.1% during the fourth quarter. Peak Financial Advisors LLC now owns 26,552 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,344,000 after acquiring an additional 17,400 shares during the last quarter. National Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in Sempra Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $218,000. Czech National Bank raised its position in Sempra Energy by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 172,102 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $15,195,000 after purchasing an additional 6,387 shares during the last quarter. Curated Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in Sempra Energy during the 4th quarter worth $200,000. Finally, Pensionfund Sabic acquired a new position in Sempra Energy during the 4th quarter worth about $1,580,000. 89.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.