Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) Director Richard Mark Purchases 2,692 Shares of Stock

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) Director Richard Mark bought 2,692 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were bought at an average price of $93.30 per share, for a total transaction of $251,163.60. Following the transaction, the director owned 17,376 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,621,180.80. This represents a 18.33% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Sempra Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SRE traded up $0.55 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $93.34. The company had a trading volume of 212,226 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,965,271. The company has a current ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. Sempra Energy has a 1 year low of $61.90 and a 1 year high of $97.44. The company has a market capitalization of $60.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.82, a P/E/G ratio of 3.48 and a beta of 0.73. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $90.53 and its 200-day moving average price is $89.45.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. Sempra Energy had a return on equity of 8.22% and a net margin of 13.27%.The business had revenue of $3.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.82 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.50 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Sempra Energy will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Sempra Energy Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price 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. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Sempra Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 7th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Sempra Energy in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $100.00 price objective (up from $96.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Finally, Barclays set a $95.00 target price on Sempra Energy and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $100.00.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sempra Energy

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. West Wealth Group LLC lifted its stake in Sempra Energy by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. West Wealth Group LLC now owns 10,207 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $942,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO grew its position in shares of Sempra Energy by 1.7% during the third quarter. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO now owns 6,911 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $622,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares in the last quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Sempra Energy by 1.4% during the third quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,587 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $773,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton increased its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 5,191 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $458,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Advisor OS LLC lifted its position in shares of Sempra Energy by 1.2% in the third quarter. Advisor OS LLC now owns 9,681 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $871,000 after buying an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. 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.