Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) Receives $82.33 Average Target Price from Analysts

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) has received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the thirteen brokerages that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and seven have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $82.3333.

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Sempra Energy in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $80.00 target price (up previously from $70.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Sempra Energy from $71.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 26th.

Insider Activity

In other Sempra Energy news, EVP Caroline Ann Winn sold 5,114 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.01, for a total value of $419,399.14. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 39,380 shares in the company, valued at $3,229,553.80. This represents a 11.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 1,576 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total value of $126,080.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 15,600 shares in the company, valued at $1,248,000. This represents a 9.18% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Sempra Energy

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Mattson Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in Sempra Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Sempra Energy by 51.2% in the second 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 raised its stake in Sempra Energy by 245.1% in the second 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 raised its stake in Sempra Energy by 48.3% in the first 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. Finally, ST Germain D J Co. Inc. raised its stake in Sempra Energy by 230.8% in the second 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. Institutional investors own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Sempra Energy Stock Performance

Shares of Sempra Energy stock opened at $80.28 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $52.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.65. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $79.84 and its 200-day moving average is $75.50. Sempra Energy has a one year low of $61.90 and a one year high of $95.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.48 and a quick ratio of 0.41.

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

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.