Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) CFO Sells $451,049.76 in Stock

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) CFO Karen Sedgwick sold 4,872 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.58, for a total value of $451,049.76. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 39,029 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,613,304.82. The trade was a 11.10% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Sempra Energy Stock Performance

Shares of Sempra Energy stock traded up $0.86 on Monday, hitting $93.49. The stock had a trading volume of 4,064,831 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,559,351. Sempra Energy has a 52-week low of $61.90 and a 52-week high of $97.44. The company has a current ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. The stock has a market cap of $61.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.87, a P/E/G ratio of 3.47 and a beta of 0.73. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $90.37 and its 200 day moving average price is $89.36.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $1.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $3.75 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.82 billion. Sempra Energy had a return on equity of 8.22% and a net margin of 13.27%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.50 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Sempra Energy will post 4.76 EPS for the current year.

Sempra Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 19th will be given a dividend of $0.6575 per share. This represents a $2.63 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. This is a boost from Sempra Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 19th. Sempra Energy’s payout ratio is 93.48%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on SRE. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Sempra Energy in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $99.00 target price (up from $80.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a report on Monday, November 24th. Argus upgraded shares of Sempra Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Sempra Energy from $112.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Sempra Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $100.00.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sempra Energy

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake 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 period. Woodline Partners LP lifted its position in Sempra Energy by 40.7% in the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 53,512 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,819,000 after purchasing an additional 15,474 shares during the period. Ignite Planners LLC boosted its holdings in Sempra Energy by 3.1% in the 2nd quarter. Ignite Planners LLC now owns 12,396 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $970,000 after purchasing an additional 371 shares in the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC increased its position in Sempra Energy by 4.1% during the 2nd quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 8,743 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $662,000 after purchasing an additional 344 shares during the period. Finally, Metis Global Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Sempra Energy by 17.1% during the 2nd quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 62,805 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,759,000 after buying an additional 9,178 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

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.