Insider Buying: Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) Director Buys 2,500 Shares of Stock

Key Points

• Insider purchase: Director Cynthia Warner bought 2,500 Sempra shares on March 11 at an average $92.95 ($232,375 total), increasing her holding 28.49% to 11,275 shares valued at about $1.05M, per the SEC filing.
• Company performance and payout: Sempra reported $1.28 EPS for the most recent quarter (beat $1.12 estimate), slightly missed revenue expectations, and raised its quarterly dividend to $0.6575 (annual $2.63, ~2.8% yield) with a high payout ratio of 93.48%.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) Director Cynthia Warner bought 2,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were bought at an average price of $92.95 per share, for a total transaction of $232,375.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 11,275 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,048,011.25. This trade represents a 28.49% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Sempra Energy Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of Sempra Energy stock traded down $0.21 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $92.76. 2,131,730 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,597,272. 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 twelve month low of $61.90 and a twelve month high of $97.44. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $90.45 and a 200-day simple moving average of $89.43. The company has a market cap of $60.60 billion, a PE ratio of 33.61, a PEG ratio of 3.48 and a beta of 0.73.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $3.75 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.82 billion. Sempra Energy had a return on equity of 8.22% and a net margin of 13.27%.Sempra Energy's revenue for the quarter was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.50 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate 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 $0.6575 dividend. This is a positive change from Sempra Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 19th. This represents a $2.63 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. Sempra Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 93.48%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on SRE shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Sempra Energy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday. UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $100.00 price objective (up from $96.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Barclays set a $95.00 target price on shares of Sempra Energy and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Sempra Energy in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Sempra Energy from $112.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $100.00.

Institutional Trading of Sempra Energy

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in shares of Sempra Energy by 52.5% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 18,008 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,285,000 after purchasing an additional 6,196 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP raised its stake in shares of Sempra Energy by 40.7% during the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 53,512 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,819,000 after purchasing an additional 15,474 shares in the last quarter. Ignite Planners LLC lifted its holdings in Sempra Energy by 3.1% in the second quarter. Ignite Planners LLC now owns 12,396 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $970,000 after purchasing an additional 371 shares during the period. Savant Capital LLC grew its position in Sempra Energy by 4.1% in the 2nd quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 8,743 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $662,000 after buying an additional 344 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its position in Sempra Energy by 34.8% in the 2nd quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,537 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $116,000 after buying an additional 397 shares in the last quarter. 89.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

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