Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) Given New $80.00 Price Target at Barclays

Key Points

• Barclays raised Sempra Energy's price target from $71.00 to $80.00 but maintained an "equal weight" rating, indicating a potential downside of 2.20% from the stock's previous close.
• Other brokerages, including BMO Capital Markets and Citigroup, also adjusted their price targets, with BMO setting it at $81.00 and Citigroup reaffirming $80.00, reflecting positive analyst sentiment overall.
• Sempra Energy reported a Q2 earnings per share of $0.89, beating expectations, but experienced a slight revenue decline of 0.4% year-over-year, amounting to $3 billion for the quarter.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) had its target price lifted by equities researchers at Barclays from $71.00 to $80.00 in a report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an "equal weight" rating on the utilities provider's stock. Barclays's price target would indicate a potential downside of 2.20% from the stock's previous close.

Several other brokerages also recently commented on SRE. 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 research note on Monday, May 12th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $80.00 target price (up previously from $70.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $88.00 target price (up previously from $87.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $82.33.

Sempra Energy Trading Down 1.3%

Shares of NYSE SRE opened at $81.80 on Tuesday. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $78.39 and its 200 day simple moving average is $75.65. Sempra Energy has a fifty-two week low of $61.90 and a fifty-two week high of $95.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $53.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.76, a P/E/G ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.48 and a quick ratio of 0.41.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.07. Sempra Energy had a net margin of 20.28% and a return on equity of 8.42%. The business had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.35 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.89 earnings per share. Sempra Energy's revenue was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Sempra Energy will post 4.76 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Caroline Ann Winn sold 5,114 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.01, for a total value of $419,399.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 39,380 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,229,553.80. This trade represents a 11.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 1,576 shares of the firm'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 transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 15,600 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,248,000. This trade represents a 9.18% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SRE. Westside Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Sempra Energy by 51.2% in the second quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 375 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Mattson Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in Sempra Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Pingora Partners LLC lifted its stake in Sempra Energy by 48.3% in the first quarter. Pingora Partners LLC now owns 430 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC lifted its stake in Sempra Energy by 245.1% in the second quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 421 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 299 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ST Germain D J Co. Inc. lifted its stake in Sempra Energy by 230.8% in the second quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 430 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.65% of the company's stock.

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.

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