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

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) had its price objective lifted by equities researchers at UBS Group from $82.00 to $98.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “neutral” rating on the utilities provider’s stock. UBS Group’s price target indicates a potential upside of 4.67% from the company’s previous close.

SRE has been the topic of a number of other reports. BTIG Research upgraded Sempra Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $99.00 price target on shares of Sempra Energy in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $80.00 price objective (up from $70.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Sempra Energy in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Sempra Energy from $86.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Sempra Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $95.42.

Sempra Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SRE opened at $93.63 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.48 and a quick ratio of 0.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $61.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.62, a PEG ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.68. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $88.43 and its 200-day simple moving average is $81.32. Sempra Energy has a 12 month low of $61.90 and a 12 month high of $95.77.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 4,322 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.55, for a total transaction of $400,001.10. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 11,325 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,048,128.75. This represents a 27.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Kevin C. Sagara sold 14,433 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.50, for a total transaction of $1,291,753.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director 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 disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 52,733 shares of company stock valued at $4,541,791 in the last 90 days. 0.27% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of SRE. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Sempra Energy in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Sempra Energy by 51.2% during the second quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 375 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. Pingora Partners LLC grew its holdings in Sempra Energy by 48.3% in the 1st quarter. Pingora Partners LLC now owns 430 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Sempra Energy by 245.1% in the 2nd quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 421 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 299 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ST Germain D J Co. Inc. increased its stake in shares of Sempra Energy by 230.8% in the 2nd quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 430 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. 89.65% of the stock is 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.