Analysts Set Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) PT at $81.58

Key Points

• Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) has received a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from thirteen brokerages, with an average twelve-month target price of $81.58.
• In recent insider trading, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 1,576 shares at an average price of $80.00, resulting in a 9.18% decrease in their position.
• The company's latest earnings report showed adjusted earnings per share of $0.89, beating expectations, despite a slight decline in revenue compared to the previous year.

Shares of Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) have earned an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the thirteen research firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $81.5833.

Several research firms have recently issued reports on SRE. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $80.00 price target (up previously from $70.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on Sempra Energy from $77.00 to $75.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $88.00 target price (up from $87.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Sempra Energy from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Sempra Energy from $72.00 to $71.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 10th.

Sempra Energy Stock Performance

SRE traded up $0.02 during trading on Monday, reaching $82.11. The company's stock had a trading volume of 957,005 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,575,354. 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 company's fifty day moving average price is $77.23 and its 200-day moving average price is $75.71. Sempra Energy has a 52-week low of $61.90 and a 52-week high of $95.77. The company has a market capitalization of $53.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.62.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.07. Sempra Energy had a return on equity of 8.42% and a net margin of 20.28%. The firm had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.35 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.89 earnings per share. Sempra Energy's quarterly revenue was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Sempra Energy will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 26th were issued a dividend of $0.645 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 26th. This represents a $2.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. Sempra Energy's payout ratio is currently 62.32%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sempra Energy

In other news, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 1,576 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total value of $126,080.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 15,600 shares in the company, valued at $1,248,000. This represents a 9.18% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Sempra Energy

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Westerkirk Capital Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Sempra Energy during the 2nd quarter worth about $3,091,000. M&T Bank Corp boosted its stake in shares of Sempra Energy by 8.6% during the 2nd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 42,886 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,249,000 after acquiring an additional 3,392 shares in the last quarter. Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Sempra Energy by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter. Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC now owns 10,045 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $761,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sempra Energy during the 2nd quarter worth about $207,000. Finally, BLI Banque de Luxembourg Investments bought a new stake in shares of Sempra Energy during the 2nd quarter worth about $6,487,000. 89.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Sempra Energy Company Profile

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.