Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) EVP Caroline Ann Winn Sells 500 Shares

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) EVP Caroline Ann Winn sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.70, for a total transaction of $45,850.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 33,664 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,086,988.80. The trade was a 1.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.

Caroline Ann Winn also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Tuesday, November 18th, Caroline Ann Winn sold 5,500 shares of Sempra Energy stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.58, for a total transaction of $503,690.00.

Sempra Energy Stock Down 0.5%

SRE stock traded down $0.46 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $91.14. 3,566,892 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,332,154. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $90.14 and its 200-day moving average is $82.37. The company has a market cap of $59.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.02, a PEG ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.68. 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 12 month low of $61.90 and a 12 month high of $95.77.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.11 EPS 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 analyst estimates of $2.99 billion. Sempra Energy had a return on equity of 8.42% and a net margin of 20.28%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 13.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.89 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Sempra Energy will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Sempra Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 11th will be paid a $0.645 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 11th. This represents a $2.58 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. Sempra Energy’s payout ratio is presently 79.14%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sempra Energy

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Sempra Energy by 14.2% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 75,725,594 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $6,813,784,000 after acquiring an additional 9,396,652 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors increased its stake in shares of Sempra Energy by 9.2% during the 3rd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 54,071,206 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,865,115,000 after purchasing an additional 4,572,312 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy by 26.8% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 48,686,047 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,474,236,000 after purchasing an additional 10,278,893 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Sempra Energy by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 34,986,169 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,148,055,000 after purchasing an additional 606,101 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Sempra Energy by 3.9% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,036,572 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,058,214,000 after purchasing an additional 525,750 shares during the last quarter. 89.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Sempra Energy in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $99.00 target price on shares of Sempra Energy in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Sempra Energy from $95.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of Sempra Energy in a research note on Monday, October 27th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $115.00 price target on the stock. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Sempra Energy from $82.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Two equities 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $95.42.

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.