Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) Issues Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.07 EPS

Key Points

• Sempra Energy reported earnings per share (EPS) of $0.89 for the quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations by $0.07, although revenue of $3 billion fell short of the $3.35 billion estimate.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.645, which corresponds to an annualized total of $2.58 and a dividend yield of 3.2%.
• Sempra Energy's stock price decreased by 1.0%, trading at $81.74 following the earnings announcement amid general market conditions.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The utilities provider reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.07, Briefing.com reports. The business had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.35 billion. Sempra Energy had a return on equity of 8.37% and a net margin of 20.28%. The firm's revenue was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.89 earnings per share.

Sempra Energy Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of SRE stock traded down $0.85 on Friday, hitting $81.74. 3,604,959 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,488,069. The company has a current ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $53.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.62. The business has a 50-day moving average of $77.08 and a 200 day moving average of $75.73. Sempra Energy has a fifty-two week low of $61.90 and a fifty-two week high of $95.77.

Sempra Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 26th were issued a $0.645 dividend. This represents a $2.58 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 26th. Sempra Energy's dividend payout ratio is 56.70%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Diana L. Day sold 8,015 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.26, for a total transaction of $595,193.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 16,969 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,260,117.94. This represents a 32.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, 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 directly owned 15,600 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,248,000. This represents a 9.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.27% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

An institutional investor recently raised its position in Sempra Energy stock. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in shares of Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 52.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 18,008 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 6,196 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC's holdings in Sempra Energy were worth $1,285,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.65% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on SRE. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Sempra Energy from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Barclays dropped their price objective on Sempra Energy from $72.00 to $71.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $88.00 price objective (up previously from $87.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on Sempra Energy from $77.00 to $75.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $80.00 price objective (up previously from $70.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a report on Monday, August 4th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $81.58.

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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