Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) Earns Overweight Rating from Morgan Stanley

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "overweight" rating reissued by equities research analysts at Morgan Stanley in a report released on Wednesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. They presently have a $88.00 price target on the utilities provider's stock, up from their prior price target of $87.00. Morgan Stanley's price objective points to a potential upside of 18.77% from the company's current price.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Sempra Energy from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. Barclays downgraded Sempra Energy from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $95.00 to $72.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Guggenheim dropped their target price on Sempra Energy from $95.00 to $87.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Argus downgraded Sempra Energy from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their target price on Sempra Energy from $93.00 to $70.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $80.83.

Sempra Energy Price Performance

NYSE SRE traded down $0.30 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $74.09. The company had a trading volume of 10,288,037 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,838,174. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.28, a PEG ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a current ratio of 0.57. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $75.23 and a 200 day simple moving average of $77.80. Sempra Energy has a 52 week low of $61.90 and a 52 week high of $95.77.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The utilities provider reported $1.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.32 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $3.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.90 billion. Sempra Energy had a return on equity of 8.55% and a net margin of 22.15%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.34 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Sempra Energy will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Diana L. Day sold 8,015 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.26, for a total value of $595,193.90. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Justin Christopher Bird sold 4,817 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.23, for a total value of $343,114.91. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 19,778 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,408,786.94. The trade was a 19.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sempra Energy

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Sempra Energy in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Sempra Energy in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. TCTC Holdings LLC grew its stake in shares of Sempra Energy by 265.2% in the fourth quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 336 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 244 shares during the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Sempra Energy during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Mattson Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Sempra Energy during the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. 89.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.