Short Interest in Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) Grows By 42.5%

Key Points

• Sempra Energy's short interest increased by 42.5% in September, reaching a total of 17,160,000 shares by September 30th.
• Insider trading includes a significant sale by Director Kevin C. Sagara, who sold 28,864 shares on September 15th, resulting in a 65.10% decrease in ownership.
• Several brokerages have raised their price targets for Sempra Energy, with Mizuho increasing the price objective to $93.00 and Barclays setting it at $101.00.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) saw a significant increase in short interest in the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totaling 17,160,000 shares, an increase of 42.5% from the September 15th total of 12,040,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 3,850,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.5 days. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 3,850,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.5 days.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sempra Energy

In related news, Director Kevin C. Sagara sold 28,864 shares of Sempra Energy stock in a transaction on Monday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.21, for a total value of $2,430,637.44. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 15,475 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,303,149.75. The trade was a 65.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Caroline Ann Winn sold 5,114 shares of Sempra Energy stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.01, for a total transaction of $419,399.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 39,380 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,229,553.80. The trade was a 11.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 48,411 shares of company stock worth $4,141,790. 0.27% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Sempra Energy

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of SRE. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Sempra Energy by 6.5% in the 1st quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 313,788 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $22,392,000 after purchasing an additional 19,264 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Sempra Energy in the 1st quarter worth about $262,000. Spire Wealth Management boosted its stake in Sempra Energy by 44.7% in the 1st quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 1,026 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $73,000 after purchasing an additional 317 shares in the last quarter. Independent Solutions Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Sempra Energy by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. Independent Solutions Wealth Management LLC now owns 25,609 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,827,000 after purchasing an additional 480 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Sempra Energy by 408.4% in the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,923 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $708,000 after purchasing an additional 7,971 shares in the last quarter. 89.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on SRE. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Sempra Energy from $86.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 24th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Sempra Energy from $95.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Barclays set a $101.00 price objective on shares of Sempra Energy and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday. Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $80.00 price objective (up from $70.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Evercore ISI set a $105.00 price objective on shares of Sempra Energy and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, October 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $91.50.

Sempra Energy Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of NYSE:SRE traded down $0.23 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $91.83. The company's stock had a trading volume of 721,808 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,411,333. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $85.88 and a 200-day moving average of $79.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $59.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.19, a PEG ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a quick ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. Sempra Energy has a 12-month low of $61.90 and a 12-month high of $95.77.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last released its 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 firm had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.35 billion. Sempra Energy had a net margin of 20.28% and a return on equity of 8.42%. The company's revenue was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.89 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Sempra Energy will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Sempra Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 1st were given a $0.645 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, October 1st. This represents a $2.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. Sempra Energy's dividend payout ratio is currently 62.32%.

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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