Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) Short Interest Up 29.9% in February

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) was the target of a large growth in short interest in the month of February. As of February 13th, there was short interest totaling 11,281,352 shares, a growth of 29.9% from the January 29th total of 8,681,923 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 4,542,431 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.5 days. Currently, 1.7% of the company’s stock are sold short. Currently, 1.7% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 4,542,431 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.5 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Sempra Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 8th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $101.00 price objective on shares of Sempra Energy in a report on Friday, February 20th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Sempra Energy from $112.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Sempra Energy in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, UBS Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $100.00 price target on shares of Sempra Energy in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $99.20.

Institutional Trading of Sempra Energy

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in SRE. Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in shares of Sempra Energy by 52.5% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 18,008 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,285,000 after acquiring an additional 6,196 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP raised its stake in Sempra Energy by 40.7% during the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 53,512 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,819,000 after acquiring an additional 15,474 shares during the period. Ignite Planners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy by 3.1% in the 2nd quarter. Ignite Planners LLC now owns 12,396 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $970,000 after purchasing an additional 371 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy by 9.3% during the second quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 9,160 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $695,000 after acquiring an additional 782 shares during the period. Finally, Arkadios Wealth Advisors boosted its stake in Sempra Energy by 23.3% during the 2nd quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 8,281 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $627,000 after purchasing an additional 1,564 shares during the period. 89.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Sempra Energy Stock Performance

SRE traded down $0.61 during trading on Monday, hitting $95.66. The stock had a trading volume of 3,064,171 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,884,631. The firm has a market capitalization of $62.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.66, a PEG ratio of 3.63 and a beta of 0.73. Sempra Energy has a twelve month low of $61.90 and a twelve month high of $97.44. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $89.83 and its 200 day moving average price is $88.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 1.59.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $1.28 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $3.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.82 billion. Sempra Energy had a net margin of 13.27% and a return on equity of 8.22%. The business’s revenue was down .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.50 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Sempra Energy will post 4.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 19th will be paid a $0.6575 dividend. This represents a $2.63 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 19th. This is an increase from Sempra Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. Sempra Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 93.48%.

Sempra Energy Company Profile

Sempra Energy is a San Diego–based energy infrastructure company that develops, owns and operates businesses delivering electricity and natural gas. Its operations include regulated utility services that provide electric and gas distribution to residential, commercial and industrial customers, as well as non‑regulated infrastructure businesses that develop and manage large-scale energy assets.

The company’s product and service portfolio spans electricity and natural gas delivery, transmission and storage, liquefied natural gas (LNG) facilities, power generation and electric transmission projects.