Barclays Upgrades Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) to Overweight

Key Points

• Sempra Energy was upgraded by **Barclays** from a "hold" rating to a **"strong-buy"** rating, indicating increased analyst confidence in the company's stock.
• Various analysts have increased their target prices for Sempra Energy, with **Mizuho** setting a target of **$93.00** and **Evercore ISI** at **$105.00**.
• For the latest quarter, Sempra Energy reported **$0.89 earnings per share**, exceeding analysts' expectations, despite quarterly revenue decreasing by 0.4% year-over-year.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) was upgraded by investment analysts at Barclays from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating in a research note issued on Monday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The firm presently has a $101.00 target price on the utilities provider's stock, up from their previous target price of $80.00. Barclays's target price suggests a potential upside of 9.01% from the stock's previous close.

A number of other research firms also recently commented on SRE. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Sempra Energy from $86.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 24th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $93.00 target price (up from $86.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a report on Wednesday, September 24th. Citigroup reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $80.00 target price (up from $70.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a report on Monday, August 4th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Sempra Energy in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Evercore ISI set a $105.00 target price on shares of Sempra Energy and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, October 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Sempra Energy has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $88.00.

Sempra Energy Trading Up 1.5%

Shares of NYSE:SRE opened at $92.65 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $85.48 and a 200-day moving average of $79.03. The firm has a market cap of $60.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.66. Sempra Energy has a twelve month low of $61.90 and a twelve month high of $95.77. The company has a current ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.35 billion. Sempra Energy had a net margin of 20.28% and a return on equity of 8.42%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.89 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Sempra Energy will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Sempra Energy

In related news, Director Kevin C. Sagara sold 14,433 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.50, for a total value of $1,291,753.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 1,042 shares in the company, valued at approximately $93,259. This represents a 93.27% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Caroline Ann Winn sold 5,114 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.01, for a total transaction of $419,399.14. Following the completion of the sale, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 49,987 shares of company stock worth $4,267,870. 0.27% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sempra Energy

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Westside Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Sempra Energy by 51.2% in the 2nd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 375 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 127 shares during the period. NewSquare Capital LLC increased its stake in Sempra Energy by 245.1% in the 2nd quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 421 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 299 shares during the period. Pingora Partners LLC increased its stake in Sempra Energy by 48.3% in the 1st quarter. Pingora Partners LLC now owns 430 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 140 shares during the period. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. increased its stake in Sempra Energy by 230.8% in the 2nd quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 430 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. Finally, Bogart Wealth LLC increased its stake in Sempra Energy by 74.1% in the 2nd quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 444 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 189 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.