Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) Earns Hold (C+) Rating from Weiss Ratings

Key Points

• Sempra Energy has received a reaffirmed rating of "hold (C+)" from Weiss Ratings, indicating a cautious stance from analysts on the stock's performance.
• Multiple analysts have raised their target prices for Sempra Energy, with Mizuho setting the highest at $93.00 and others like Morgan Stanley at $99.00.
• Insider trading activity includes significant sales, with Director Kevin C. Sagara selling 14,433 shares for over $1.29 million, reflecting a substantial decrease in their holdings.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "hold (c+)" rating reaffirmed by equities research analysts at Weiss Ratings in a research note issued on Friday,Weiss Ratings reports.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on SRE. Mizuho upped their target price on Sempra Energy from $86.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 24th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $80.00 target price (up previously from $70.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a report on Monday, August 4th. Evercore ISI set a $105.00 target price on Sempra Energy and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, October 6th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Sempra Energy from $95.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $99.00 target price on shares of Sempra Energy in a report on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Sempra Energy currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $91.50.

Sempra Energy Stock Performance

SRE opened at $92.81 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 0.48. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $86.31 and its 200 day simple moving average is $79.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $60.56 billion, a PE ratio of 22.42, a PEG ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.66. Sempra Energy has a 52-week low of $61.90 and a 52-week high of $95.77.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.35 billion. Sempra Energy had a return on equity of 8.42% and a net margin of 20.28%.The business's revenue for the quarter was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.89 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Sempra Energy will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Sempra Energy

In related news, Director Kevin C. Sagara sold 14,433 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.50, for a total value of $1,291,753.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 1,042 shares of the company's stock, valued at $93,259. The trade was a 93.27% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Caroline Ann Winn sold 5,114 shares of Sempra Energy stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.01, for a total value of $419,399.14. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 39,380 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,229,553.80. This trade represents a 11.49% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 48,411 shares of company stock valued at $4,141,790 over the last ninety days. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sempra Energy

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of SRE. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of Sempra Energy by 26.8% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 48,686,047 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,474,236,000 after buying an additional 10,278,893 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Sempra Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at $701,649,000. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in Sempra Energy during the 1st quarter valued at $192,130,000. Marshall Wace LLP raised its holdings in Sempra Energy by 786.1% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 2,957,399 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $224,082,000 after acquiring an additional 2,623,637 shares during the period. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp increased its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy by 809.5% in the second quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 2,750,891 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $208,435,000 after purchasing an additional 2,448,415 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.

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