Citigroup Issues Positive Forecast for Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) Stock Price

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) had its target price upped by Citigroup from $70.00 to $80.00 in a research report sent to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

Several other analysts also recently commented on SRE. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $88.00 price objective (up from $87.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Barclays cut their target price on Sempra Energy from $72.00 to $71.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Sempra Energy from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on Sempra Energy from $77.00 to $75.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Sempra Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $81.58.

Sempra Energy Trading Up 2.6%

SRE opened at $83.08 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $54.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.26, a PEG ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.57 and a quick ratio of 0.51. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $76.78 and a 200 day moving average price of $75.75. 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 Thursday, May 8th. The utilities provider reported $1.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.32 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $3.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.90 billion. Sempra Energy had a return on equity of 8.55% and a net margin of 22.15%. Sempra Energy’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.34 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Sempra Energy will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 26th were paid a $0.645 dividend. This represents a $2.58 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 26th. Sempra Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.70%.

Insider Activity at Sempra Energy

In other Sempra Energy news, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 1,576 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total transaction of $126,080.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 15,600 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,248,000. This represents a 9.18% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Diana L. Day sold 8,015 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.26, for a total value of $595,193.90. Following the sale, the insider owned 16,969 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,260,117.94. This trade represents a 32.08% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sempra Energy

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 8,194 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $719,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. MJP Associates Inc. ADV boosted its holdings in Sempra Energy by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. MJP Associates Inc. ADV now owns 6,195 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $543,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Sempra Energy by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 2,639 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $232,000 after acquiring an additional 126 shares during the last quarter. Mendel Money Management boosted its holdings in Sempra Energy by 1.6% in the second quarter. Mendel Money Management now owns 8,476 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $642,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tritonpoint Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Sempra Energy by 2.2% in the second quarter. Tritonpoint Wealth LLC now owns 5,999 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $458,000 after acquiring an additional 132 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

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.