Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) Downgraded to Sell Rating by Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note published on Sunday morning.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Sempra Energy from $113.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Sempra Energy from $98.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 18th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $100.00 price target (up from $96.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a report on Friday, March 6th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Sempra Energy in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Barclays set a $95.00 price objective on Sempra Energy and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and four 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 $100.73.

Sempra Energy Price Performance

NYSE:SRE opened at $95.72 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 1.59 and a quick ratio of 1.57. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $91.85 and a 200-day moving average price of $90.61. Sempra Energy has a 1-year low of $61.90 and a 1-year high of $97.44. The firm has a market cap of $62.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.63 and a beta of 0.73.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $1.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.16. Sempra Energy had a net margin of 13.27% and a return on equity of 8.22%. The firm had revenue of $3.75 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.82 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.50 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Sempra Energy will post 4.76 EPS for the current year.

Sempra Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 19th will be given a dividend of $0.6575 per share. This is a boost from Sempra Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 19th. This represents a $2.63 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. Sempra Energy’s payout ratio is currently 95.29%.

Insider Transactions at Sempra Energy

In related news, Director Jennifer M. Kirk purchased 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 12th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $93.44 per share, with a total value of $93,440.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 1,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $93,440. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Karen L. Sedgwick sold 4,872 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.58, for a total transaction of $451,049.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 39,029 shares in the company, valued at $3,613,304.82. This represents a 11.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders bought a total of 6,192 shares of company stock worth $576,979 in the last three months. 0.27% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Sempra Energy

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in Sempra Energy by 52.5% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 18,008 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,285,000 after purchasing an additional 6,196 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP raised its position in shares of Sempra Energy by 40.7% in the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 53,512 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,819,000 after buying an additional 15,474 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Sempra Energy by 2.8% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 143,208 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $10,851,000 after buying an additional 3,866 shares in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC acquired a new position in Sempra Energy during the second quarter worth about $343,000. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Sempra Energy by 16.2% during the second quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 17,238 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,306,000 after acquiring an additional 2,397 shares during the last quarter. 89.65% of the stock is 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.