Sempra Energy (SRE) To Go Ex-Dividend on March 21st

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE – Get Rating) announced a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, February 28th, Zacks reports. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 22nd will be paid a dividend of 1.19 per share by the utilities provider on Saturday, April 15th. This represents a $4.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.28%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 21st. This is a positive change from Sempra Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.15.

Sempra Energy has increased its dividend payment by an average of 5.8% per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 19 years. Sempra Energy has a dividend payout ratio of 49.7% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Sempra Energy to earn $9.55 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $4.76 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 49.8%.

Sempra Energy Price Performance

Shares of SRE stock opened at $145.34 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $155.21 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $156.77. The stock has a market cap of $45.72 billion, a PE ratio of 21.95, a PEG ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.72. Sempra Energy has a 52-week low of $136.54 and a 52-week high of $176.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a current ratio of 0.60.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 28th. The utilities provider reported $2.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.06 by $0.29. Sempra Energy had a return on equity of 10.53% and a net margin of 14.74%. The business had revenue of $3.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.79 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.16 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Sempra Energy will post 8.94 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Sempra Energy news, CEO Jeffrey W. Martin sold 19,260 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.09, for a total transaction of $2,813,693.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $146.09. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CFO Trevor I. Mihalik sold 2,306 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.50, for a total value of $342,441.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 21,362 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,172,257. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jeffrey W. Martin sold 19,260 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.09, for a total value of $2,813,693.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1 shares in the company, valued at approximately $146.09. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 52,504 shares of company stock valued at $8,045,547 in the last quarter. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sempra Energy

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of SRE. Advisors Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Sempra Energy by 5.4% in the third quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC now owns 1,468 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $228,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Plancorp LLC grew its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy by 4.7% during the first quarter. Plancorp LLC now owns 1,992 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $335,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 2,319 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $361,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Sempra Energy by 4.7% during the first quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC now owns 3,092 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $527,000 after buying an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SVB Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Sempra Energy by 11.5% during the first quarter. SVB Wealth LLC now owns 1,877 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $316,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.75% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on SRE. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Sempra Energy in a research report on Thursday. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of Sempra Energy from $169.00 to $166.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 1st. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Sempra Energy from $160.00 to $158.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 22nd. TheStreet upgraded Sempra Energy from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a report on Friday, December 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Sempra Energy from $180.00 to $174.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 1st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $169.60.

Sempra Energy Company Profile

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Sempra Energy is an energy-service holding company, which engages in the development and operation of energy infrastructure, and provision of electric and gas services. It operates through the following segments: San Diego Gas and Electric Company (SDG&E), Southern California Gas Company (SoCalGas), Sempra Texas Utilities, Sempra Mexico, and Sempra LNG.