Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) Price Target Raised to $93.00

Key Points

• Mizuho has raised its price target for Sempra Energy from $86.00 to $93.00, indicating a potential upside of 7.06% from the current stock price.
• The stock's average rating is classified as a "Moderate Buy," with six analysts giving it a Buy rating and six a Hold rating.
• Sempra Energy reported a Q2 EPS of $0.89, which beat analyst estimates, though revenue came in below expectations at $3 billion.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) had its price objective hoisted by equities researchers at Mizuho from $86.00 to $93.00 in a research report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an "outperform" rating on the utilities provider's stock. Mizuho's price objective indicates a potential upside of 7.06% from the company's current price.

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on SRE. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Sempra Energy from $71.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 26th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $93.00 price objective (up from $86.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Citigroup reissued 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. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $83.27.

Sempra Energy Stock Up 0.9%

SRE stock traded up $0.82 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $86.87. 157,043 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,507,750. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $81.54 and its 200 day simple moving average is $76.24. Sempra Energy has a 1-year low of $61.90 and a 1-year high of $95.77. 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 has a market cap of $56.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.65.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.89 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Sempra Energy will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Kevin C. Sagara sold 28,864 shares of Sempra Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.21, for a total transaction of $2,430,637.44. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 15,475 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,303,149.75. This trade represents a 65.10% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 1,576 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total value of $126,080.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 15,600 shares in the company, valued at $1,248,000. This trade represents a 9.18% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 35,554 shares of company stock valued at $2,976,117. Corporate insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Caldwell Trust Co purchased a new position in Sempra Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at about $157,000. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Sempra Energy by 78.7% in the second quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 5,568 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $422,000 after purchasing an additional 2,453 shares during the last quarter. NWF Advisory Services Inc. increased its stake in shares of Sempra Energy by 24.0% during the 2nd quarter. NWF Advisory Services Inc. now owns 4,364 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $331,000 after purchasing an additional 844 shares in the last quarter. SevenBridge Financial Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Sempra Energy by 13.4% during the 2nd quarter. SevenBridge Financial Group LLC now owns 55,907 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $4,589,000 after purchasing an additional 6,588 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Osaic Holdings Inc. lifted its stake in Sempra Energy by 42.3% in the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 169,998 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $12,650,000 after buying an additional 50,566 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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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