UBS Group Increases Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) Price Target to $98.00

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) had its target price upped by equities research analysts at UBS Group from $82.00 to $98.00 in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “neutral” rating on the utilities provider’s stock. UBS Group’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 5.17% from the company’s current price.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Evercore ISI set a $105.00 price objective on Sempra Energy and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 6th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $99.00 price objective on shares of Sempra Energy in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Sempra Energy in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. BTIG Research upgraded Sempra Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on Sempra Energy in a research note on Monday, October 27th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $115.00 price target for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $95.42.

Sempra Energy Price Performance

SRE traded up $0.79 on Thursday, reaching $93.18. The stock had a trading volume of 1,062,678 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,337,899. Sempra Energy has a fifty-two week low of $61.90 and a fifty-two week high of $95.77. The company has a current ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $87.99 and a 200-day moving average of $81.08. The company has a market capitalization of $60.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.68.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.11 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.84 by $0.27. Sempra Energy had a return on equity of 8.42% and a net margin of 20.28%.The firm had revenue of $3.15 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.99 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.89 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 13.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Sempra Energy will post 4.76 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Sempra Energy

In related news, EVP Caroline Ann Winn sold 5,114 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.01, for a total transaction of $419,399.14. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 39,380 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,229,553.80. This represents a 11.49% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Kevin C. Sagara sold 28,864 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.21, for a total transaction of $2,430,637.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 15,475 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,303,149.75. This represents a 65.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders sold 48,411 shares of company stock valued at $4,141,790. Insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sempra Energy

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SRE. Caprock Group LLC bought a new position in Sempra Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at $2,894,000. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its holdings in Sempra Energy by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 1,283,035 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $115,447,000 after acquiring an additional 6,978 shares during the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Sempra Energy by 7.1% during the 3rd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 18,454 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,660,000 after purchasing an additional 1,216 shares in the last quarter. Krilogy Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sempra Energy during the 3rd quarter worth $934,000. Finally, Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. boosted its stake in shares of Sempra Energy by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 13,979 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,258,000 after acquiring an additional 329 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Sempra Energy Company Profile

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.