Insider Selling: Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) EVP Sells $109,066.32 in Stock

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) EVP Justin Christopher Bird sold 1,128 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.69, for a total value of $109,066.32. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 21,632 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,091,598.08. The trade was a 4.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

Sempra Energy Price Performance

Shares of SRE stock opened at $99.20 on Friday. Sempra Energy has a 1 year low of $61.90 and a 1 year high of $99.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 1.59. The business’s fifty day moving average is $92.87 and its 200-day moving average is $91.07. The stock has a market cap of $64.81 billion, a PE ratio of 35.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.67.

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

Sempra Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 19th will be given a $0.6575 dividend. This represents a $2.63 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. This is a positive change from Sempra Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 19th. Sempra Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 95.29%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sempra Energy

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes 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 valued at $1,285,000 after buying an additional 6,196 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP lifted its stake in Sempra Energy by 40.7% in the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 53,512 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,819,000 after acquiring an additional 15,474 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in Sempra Energy by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 143,208 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $10,851,000 after acquiring an additional 3,866 shares during the period. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Sempra Energy during the 2nd quarter worth about $46,000. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Sempra Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at about $207,000. 89.65% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SRE has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $101.00 price objective on shares of Sempra Energy in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Barclays set a $95.00 target price on Sempra Energy and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Sempra Energy from $113.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, March 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Sempra Energy from $98.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th. Finally, UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $100.00 price target (up from $96.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a research note on Friday, March 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $100.73.

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.