Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) SVP Sells $126,080.00 in Stock

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 1,576 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total transaction of $126,080.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 15,600 shares in the company, valued at $1,248,000. This represents a 9.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Sempra Energy Stock Performance

Shares of Sempra Energy stock traded up $0.39 during trading on Friday, hitting $80.85. 2,137,979 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,156,543. The stock has a market capitalization of $52.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $76.32 and a 200-day moving average price of $75.78. Sempra Energy has a 1-year low of $61.90 and a 1-year high of $95.77. The company has a current ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The utilities provider reported $1.44 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.32 by $0.12. Sempra Energy had a net margin of 22.15% and a return on equity of 8.55%. The business had revenue of $3.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.90 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.34 EPS. Sempra Energy's quarterly revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Sempra Energy will post 4.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 26th were paid a $0.645 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 26th. This represents a $2.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.19%. Sempra Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 56.70%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SRE has been the topic of several analyst reports. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Sempra Energy from $72.00 to $71.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Sempra Energy from $93.00 to $70.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Sempra Energy from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $88.00 price target (up from $87.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on shares of Sempra Energy from $77.00 to $75.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Sempra Energy has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $80.75.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its holdings in Sempra Energy by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 31,919 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,824,000 after purchasing an additional 245 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas boosted its holdings in Sempra Energy by 781.4% in the 4th quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 37,346 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,276,000 after purchasing an additional 33,109 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. boosted its holdings in Sempra Energy by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 222,793 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $19,543,000 after purchasing an additional 5,612 shares during the period. Fox Run Management L.L.C. bought a new stake in Sempra Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $426,000. Finally, LPL Financial LLC boosted its holdings in Sempra Energy by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 556,110 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $48,782,000 after purchasing an additional 19,150 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.65% of the company's stock.

About Sempra Energy

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.