Sempra Energy (SRE) Upgraded to “Hold” at BidaskClub

BidaskClub upgraded shares of Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Monday, July 24th.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a buy rating and set a $117.00 price target on shares of Sempra Energy in a report on Monday, July 24th. Barclays PLC lowered Sempra Energy from an overweight rating to an equal weight rating and set a $121.00 price target for the company. in a report on Thursday, June 8th. BMO Capital Markets reissued a hold rating and set a $115.00 price target on shares of Sempra Energy in a report on Wednesday, May 10th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Sempra Energy from $129.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Monday, May 8th. Finally, UBS AG reissued a buy rating and set a $128.00 price target (up previously from $124.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a report on Tuesday, April 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. The stock presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $120.43.

Shares of Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) traded up 1.00% on Monday, reaching $117.19. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 999,088 shares. The company’s 50-day moving average is $113.12 and its 200 day moving average is $110.59. Sempra Energy has a 12-month low of $92.95 and a 12-month high of $117.97. The company has a market capitalization of $29.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.17 and a beta of 0.54.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $0.80 by $0.30. Sempra Energy had a return on equity of 9.06% and a net margin of 13.77%. The business had revenue of $2.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.46 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.79 earnings per share. Sempra Energy’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Sempra Energy will post $5.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 7th were paid a $0.8225 dividend. This represents a $3.29 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.81%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 5th. Sempra Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.74%.

In other news, CEO Debra L. Reed sold 23,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.43, for a total value of $2,608,890.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 112,345 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,743,293.35. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Federated Investors Inc. PA raised its position in shares of Sempra Energy by 29.3% in the second quarter. Federated Investors Inc. PA now owns 98,258 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $11,078,000 after buying an additional 22,285 shares during the last quarter. Pax World Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Sempra Energy during the second quarter worth approximately $215,000. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System raised its position in shares of Sempra Energy by 0.7% in the second quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 351,559 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $39,638,000 after buying an additional 2,506 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC raised its position in shares of Sempra Energy by 0.8% in the second quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 519,393 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $58,562,000 after buying an additional 3,912 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BB&T Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Sempra Energy during the second quarter worth approximately $240,000. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Sempra Energy Company Profile

Sempra Energy is a holding company. The Company’s principal operating units are Sempra Utilities, which includes its San Diego Gas & Electric Company (SDG&E), Southern California Gas Company (SoCalGas) and Sempra South American Utilities segments, and Sempra Infrastructure, which includes its Sempra Mexico, Sempra Renewables and Sempra LNG & Midstream segments.