Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) Reaches New 52-Week High – What’s Next?

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $99.70 and last traded at $96.9090, with a volume of 6108 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $98.46.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Sempra Energy in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Argus upgraded Sempra Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Sempra Energy from $113.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, March 23rd. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $101.00 price objective on shares of Sempra Energy in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Sempra Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Sunday, March 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Sempra Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $100.73.

Sempra Energy Stock Up 0.9%

The stock has a market cap of $65.21 billion, a PE ratio of 36.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.74 and a beta of 0.67. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $93.82 and a 200 day moving average of $91.45. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75.

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

Sempra Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.6575 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 19th. This is a positive change from Sempra Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. This represents a $2.63 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. Sempra Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 95.29%.

Insider Activity at Sempra Energy

In other news, Director Cynthia J. Warner acquired 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were bought at an average price of $92.95 per share, with a total value of $232,375.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 11,275 shares in the company, valued at $1,048,011.25. This trade represents a 28.49% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Karen L. Sedgwick sold 4,872 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.58, for a total value of $451,049.76. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 39,029 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,613,304.82. The trade was a 11.10% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders have bought 6,192 shares of company stock valued at $576,979 and have sold 7,539 shares valued at $706,906. 0.31% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sempra Energy

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in SRE. Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy by 52.5% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 18,008 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,285,000 after buying an additional 6,196 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP grew its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy by 40.7% during the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 53,512 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,819,000 after buying an additional 15,474 shares during the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy by 6.2% during the second quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 14,699 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,114,000 after buying an additional 858 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy by 5.0% during the second quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 127,878 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $9,689,000 after buying an additional 6,120 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cary Street Partners Financial LLC grew its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy by 78.5% during the second quarter. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC now owns 771 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $58,000 after buying an additional 339 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Sempra Energy Company Profile

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.