Wells Fargo & Company Issues Positive Forecast for Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) Stock Price

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) had its target price lifted by Wells Fargo & Company from $113.00 to $115.00 in a report issued on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the company. Barclays set a $95.00 target price on Sempra Energy and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Wall Street Zen raised Sempra Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Sempra Energy from $98.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 18th. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $100.00 price objective (up from $96.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of Sempra Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Sempra Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $100.73.

Sempra Energy Trading Up 1.9%

Shares of Sempra Energy stock opened at $93.43 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $61.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.85, a P/E/G ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 0.73. 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 has a 12-month low of $61.90 and a 12-month high of $97.44. The business’s 50 day moving average is $91.53 and its 200-day moving average is $90.20.

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

Sempra Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 19th will be issued 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 of this dividend is Thursday, March 19th. This represents a $2.63 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. Sempra Energy’s payout ratio is currently 95.29%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sempra Energy

In other Sempra Energy news, Director Richard J. Mark purchased 2,692 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were bought at an average price of $93.30 per share, for a total transaction of $251,163.60. Following the purchase, the director owned 17,376 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,621,180.80. This trade represents a 18.33% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Jennifer M. Kirk acquired 1,000 shares of Sempra Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 12th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $93.44 per share, for a total transaction of $93,440.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 1,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $93,440. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders have acquired a total of 6,192 shares of company stock worth $576,979 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sempra Energy

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SRE. J. Derek Lewis & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Sempra Energy during the fourth quarter worth $219,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its stake in shares of Sempra Energy by 10.4% in the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 2,483,473 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $219,295,000 after acquiring an additional 234,894 shares during the last quarter. Carter Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sempra Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $360,000. Cornerstone Planning LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sempra Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $924,000. Finally, Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. grew its position in Sempra Energy by 41.6% during the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 500,272 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $44,175,000 after acquiring an additional 146,929 shares during the last quarter. 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.