Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) Stock Rating Upgraded by Wall Street Zen

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) was upgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Saturday.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on SRE. Evercore ISI set a $105.00 price objective on shares of Sempra Energy and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 6th. 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. Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $80.00 price target (up from $70.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Barclays cut their price objective on Sempra Energy from $101.00 to $98.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $89.00 target price on Sempra Energy and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Sempra Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $95.42.

Sempra Energy Trading Up 0.9%

NYSE:SRE opened at $93.63 on Friday. Sempra Energy has a 1 year low of $61.90 and a 1 year high of $95.77. The stock has a market cap of $61.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.62, a PEG ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.68. The business has a fifty day moving average of $88.43 and a 200-day moving average of $81.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 0.48.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $3.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.99 billion. Sempra Energy had a net margin of 20.28% and a return on equity of 8.42%. The company’s revenue was up 13.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.89 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Sempra Energy will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Kevin C. Sagara sold 14,433 shares of Sempra Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.50, for a total value of $1,291,753.50. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 1,042 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $93,259. This trade represents a 93.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Caroline Ann Winn sold 5,114 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 trade represents a 11.49% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 52,733 shares of company stock worth $4,541,791. Company insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sempra Energy

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SRE. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its position in shares of Sempra Energy by 2.4% in the first quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 185,885 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $13,265,000 after buying an additional 4,315 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund lifted its stake in Sempra Energy by 3.4% in the 1st quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 800,797 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $57,145,000 after acquiring an additional 26,000 shares in the last quarter. Hughes Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in Sempra Energy during the 1st quarter worth about $122,000. CWM LLC boosted its position in Sempra Energy by 38.8% during the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 20,463 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,460,000 after acquiring an additional 5,716 shares during the period. Finally, ELCO Management Co. LLC grew its stake in Sempra Energy by 11.3% during the 1st quarter. ELCO Management Co. LLC now owns 7,500 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $535,000 after acquiring an additional 760 shares in the last quarter. 89.65% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.