Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) Lowered to Sell Rating by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded Sempra Energy from a "hold" to a "sell" rating in a research note issued Saturday.
• Despite the downgrade, the analyst consensus remains a Moderate Buy with an average price target of $100, and several firms (Argus, Wells Fargo, Barclays) continue to carry buy/overweight ratings and higher targets (up to $113).
• Sempra beat Q4 EPS estimates ($1.28 vs. $1.12) but slightly missed revenue ($3.75B vs. $3.82B); the stock trades near $92.71 with a market cap of about $60.6B and a PE of 33.6.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) was downgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Argus upgraded Sempra Energy from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Sempra Energy from $112.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $100.00 target price (up from $96.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a research note on Friday. Citigroup reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $99.00 price target (up from $80.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a research report on Monday, November 24th. Finally, Barclays set a $95.00 price objective on shares of Sempra Energy and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Sempra Energy has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $100.00.

Sempra Energy Stock Down 1.3%

SRE stock opened at $92.71 on Friday. Sempra Energy has a one year low of $61.90 and a one year high of $97.44. The firm has a market cap of $60.57 billion, a PE ratio of 33.59, a PEG ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 0.73. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $90.28 and its 200-day moving average price is $89.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 1.59.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $1.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $3.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.82 billion. Sempra Energy had a return on equity of 8.22% and a net margin of 13.27%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.50 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Sempra Energy will post 4.76 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sempra Energy

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of SRE. West Wealth Group LLC raised its stake in Sempra Energy by 1.1% in the third quarter. West Wealth Group LLC now owns 10,207 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $942,000 after buying an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO increased its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO now owns 6,911 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $622,000 after acquiring an additional 113 shares during the last quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Sempra Energy by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,587 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $773,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton lifted its stake in Sempra Energy by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 5,191 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $458,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Advisor OS LLC boosted its holdings in Sempra Energy by 1.2% in the third quarter. Advisor OS LLC now owns 9,681 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $871,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.65% of the company's stock.

About Sempra Energy

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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