Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) EVP Justin Christopher Bird Sells 1,128 Shares

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) EVP Justin Christopher Bird sold 1,128 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.69, for a total transaction of $109,066.32. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 21,632 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,091,598.08. This trade represents a 4.96% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Sempra Energy Trading Up 1.8%

Shares of SRE stock opened at $99.20 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $64.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.94, a P/E/G ratio of 3.69 and a beta of 0.67. Sempra Energy has a 12-month low of $61.90 and a 12-month high of $99.28. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $92.61 and a 200 day moving average price of $90.90.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $1.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $3.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.82 billion. Sempra Energy had a net margin of 13.27% and a return on equity of 8.22%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.50 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Sempra Energy will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.6575 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 19th. This represents a $2.63 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. This is a positive change from Sempra Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. Sempra Energy’s payout ratio is 95.29%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SRE has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Sempra Energy from $98.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 18th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $101.00 price target on shares of Sempra Energy in a report on Friday, February 20th. Argus upgraded shares of Sempra Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $100.00 price objective (up from $96.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a report on Friday, March 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Sempra Energy from $113.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, March 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $100.73.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sempra Energy

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. J. Derek Lewis & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in Sempra Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $219,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its position in Sempra Energy by 10.4% during the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 2,483,473 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $219,295,000 after purchasing an additional 234,894 shares during the period. Carter Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Sempra Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $360,000. Cornerstone Planning LLC bought a new position in shares of Sempra Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $924,000. Finally, Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. grew its position in shares of Sempra Energy by 41.6% during the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 500,272 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $44,175,000 after buying an additional 146,929 shares during the period. 89.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Sempra Energy

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.