Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the fifteen brokerages that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, ten have issued a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $104.2308.

A number of research firms recently weighed in on SRE. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $108.00 price target on shares of Sempra Energy in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. TD Cowen assumed coverage on Sempra Energy in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Wall Street Zen raised Sempra Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 25th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $118.00 target price on shares of Sempra Energy in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $101.00 price objective on shares of Sempra Energy in a report on Thursday, July 16th.

Sempra Energy Trading Down 1.0%

NYSE:SRE opened at $88.71 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.69, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $57.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.07, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.56. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $91.77 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $92.49. Sempra Energy has a 12 month low of $78.97 and a 12 month high of $101.04.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.51 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.51. The firm had revenue of $3.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.10 billion. Sempra Energy had a net margin of 14.31% and a return on equity of 8.20%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.44 earnings per share. Sempra Energy has set its FY 2027 guidance at 5.100-5.700 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 4.870-5.370 EPS. Analysts expect that Sempra Energy will post 5.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 25th were given a dividend of $0.6575 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 25th. This represents a $2.63 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. Sempra Energy’s payout ratio is presently 89.15%.

Insider Activity at Sempra Energy

In other news, insider Diana L. Day sold 3,300 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.13, for a total value of $304,029.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 22,870 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,107,013.10. This represents a 12.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Caroline Ann Winn sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.55, for a total value of $724,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 25,164 shares in the company, valued at $2,278,600.20. This represents a 24.12% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 13,900 shares of company stock valued at $1,261,207. 0.31% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sempra Energy

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of Sempra Energy by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,590,698 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $142,702,000 after acquiring an additional 74,749 shares during the period. Dockside LLC purchased a new position in Sempra Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,938,000. Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. bought a new position in Sempra Energy during the fourth quarter valued at $3,289,000. Carnegie Investment Counsel grew its holdings in Sempra Energy by 15.5% during the first quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel now owns 167,391 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $16,265,000 after purchasing an additional 22,408 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Sempra Energy by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 76,734,070 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,774,907,000 after buying an additional 1,008,476 shares during the last quarter. 89.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.