Jennifer Kirk Acquires 1,000 Shares of Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) Stock

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) Director Jennifer Kirk bought 1,000 shares of Sempra Energy stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 12th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $93.44 per share, with a total value of $93,440.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 1,000 shares in the company, valued at $93,440. This trade represents a ? increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.

Sempra Energy Stock Up 2.2%

NYSE SRE opened at $95.20 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $62.19 billion, a PE ratio of 34.49, a PEG ratio of 3.56 and a beta of 0.73. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $90.74 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $89.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 1.59 and a quick ratio of 1.57. Sempra Energy has a fifty-two week low of $61.90 and a fifty-two week high of $97.44.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) last posted 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. Sempra Energy had a net margin of 13.27% and a return on equity of 8.22%. The company had revenue of $3.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.82 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.50 earnings per share. Sempra Energy’s revenue for the quarter was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Sempra Energy will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Energy Increases Dividend

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sempra Energy

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in Sempra Energy by 52.5% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 18,008 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,285,000 after buying an additional 6,196 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP raised its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy by 40.7% during 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 last quarter. Ignite Planners LLC lifted its position in Sempra Energy by 3.1% during the second 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 during the period. Savant Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Sempra Energy by 4.1% in the second 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 last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP boosted its holdings in Sempra Energy by 2.6% in the second quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 11,694 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $886,000 after purchasing an additional 292 shares during the last quarter. 89.65% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on SRE. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $101.00 target price on shares of Sempra Energy in a report on Friday, February 20th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Sempra Energy in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Barclays set a $95.00 price target on Sempra Energy and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Sempra Energy from $112.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. Finally, UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $100.00 price objective (up from $96.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a research report on Friday, March 6th. One 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Sempra Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $100.00.

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.