Richard Mark Acquires 2,692 Shares of Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) Stock

Key Points

• Richard Mark purchased 2,692 shares of Sempra Energy at an average price of $93.30 on March 11, increasing his stake to 17,376 shares (an 18.33% boost) and disclosing the trade in an SEC filing.
• Sempra raised its quarterly dividend to $0.6575 (annualized $2.63), with an ex-dividend date of March 19, implying a ~2.8% yield and a 93.48% payout ratio.
• The company reported $1.28 EPS for the quarter (beating the $1.12 estimate) though revenue slightly missed, and analysts hold a consensus "Moderate Buy" stance with an average price target of $100.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) Director Richard Mark purchased 2,692 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $93.30 per share, with a total value of $251,163.60. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 17,376 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,621,180.80. The trade was a 18.33% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

Sempra Energy Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of SRE stock traded down $0.21 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $92.76. The company had a trading volume of 2,131,730 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,597,272. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 1.59 and a quick ratio of 1.57. Sempra Energy has a 1-year low of $61.90 and a 1-year high of $97.44. The company has a 50 day moving average of $90.45 and a 200 day moving average of $89.43. The firm has a market cap of $60.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.61, a P/E/G ratio of 3.48 and a beta of 0.73.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $1.28 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 the consensus estimate of $3.82 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.50 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was down .2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Sempra Energy will post 4.76 EPS for the current year.

Sempra Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 19th will be given a $0.6575 dividend. 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%. This is a positive change from Sempra Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. Sempra Energy's dividend payout ratio is 93.48%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $99.00 price objective (up from $80.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a research report on Monday, November 24th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Sempra Energy in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Argus raised Sempra Energy from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Wells Fargo & Company increased 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. Finally, Barclays set a $95.00 price target on Sempra Energy and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $100.00.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sempra Energy

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of SRE. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its stake in Sempra Energy by 19.4% in the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 85,334 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $7,678,000 after purchasing an additional 13,864 shares in the last quarter. Westerkirk Capital Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Sempra Energy during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $3,091,000. Amundi boosted its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy by 20.8% in the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 1,903,624 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $142,429,000 after buying an additional 327,154 shares during the last quarter. ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Sempra Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $150,993,000. Finally, Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ grew its stake in shares of Sempra Energy by 5.7% in the third quarter. Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ now owns 203,402 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $18,302,000 after buying an additional 11,020 shares in the last quarter. 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.

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