Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) Upgraded at Truist Financial

Truist Financial upgraded shares of Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) to a strong-buy rating in a report released on Monday morning,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Sempra Energy in a research note on Monday. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $100.00 target price (up from $96.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Argus raised shares of Sempra Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Sempra Energy from $98.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $104.00 target price on shares of Sempra Energy and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $102.67.

Sempra Energy Trading Down 0.8%

Sempra Energy stock opened at $92.43 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $95.12 and a 200 day moving average price of $91.92. Sempra Energy has a 52 week low of $72.56 and a 52 week high of $101.04. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $60.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.49, a P/E/G ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 0.67.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $1.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $3.75 billion during 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 revenue for the quarter was down .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.50 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Sempra Energy will post 5.11 EPS for the current year.

Sempra Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 19th were paid a $0.6575 dividend. This represents a $2.63 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 19th. This is a boost from Sempra Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. Sempra Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 95.29%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Dyan Z. Wold sold 1,539 shares of Sempra Energy stock in a transaction on Monday, March 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.38, for a total value of $146,789.82. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 4,633 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $441,895.54. The trade was a 24.94% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Justin Christopher Bird sold 1,128 shares of Sempra Energy stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.69, for a total transaction of $109,066.32. Following the completion of the sale, 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 position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have acquired 6,192 shares of company stock worth $576,979 and have sold 7,539 shares worth $706,906. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sempra Energy

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of SRE. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in shares of Sempra Energy by 52.5% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 18,008 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,285,000 after purchasing an additional 6,196 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP raised its holdings 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 during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Sempra Energy by 6.2% in the 2nd quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 14,699 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,114,000 after acquiring an additional 858 shares during the period. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC raised its holdings in Sempra Energy by 78.5% in the 2nd quarter. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC now owns 771 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 339 shares during the period. Finally, Sei Investments Co. raised its holdings in Sempra Energy by 80.0% in the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 423,280 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,072,000 after acquiring an additional 188,131 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.