Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) Upgraded to Strong-Buy at Truist Financial

Truist Financial upgraded shares of Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) to a strong-buy rating in a research report released on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

SRE has been the topic of several other research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Sempra Energy from $98.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 18th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Sempra Energy in a research note on Monday. Wall Street Zen lowered Sempra Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Sunday, March 29th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $118.00 price target on shares of Sempra Energy in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $100.00 price target (up from $96.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Sempra Energy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $102.67.

Sempra Energy Stock Performance

SRE traded down $0.28 during trading on Monday, reaching $92.87. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 569,958 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,766,857. Sempra Energy has a 52-week low of $72.56 and a 52-week high of $101.04. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $95.10 and its 200-day moving average price is $91.91. The company has a market capitalization of $60.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 1.59.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $1.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $3.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.82 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.50 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Sempra Energy will post 5.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 19th were paid a dividend of $0.6575 per share. This is a positive change from Sempra Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 19th. This represents a $2.63 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. Sempra Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 95.29%.

Insider Transactions at Sempra Energy

In related news, CAO Dyan Z. Wold sold 1,539 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.38, for a total value of $146,789.82. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 4,633 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $441,895.54. This represents a 24.94% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Justin Christopher Bird sold 1,128 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.69, for a total value of $109,066.32. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 21,632 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,091,598.08. The trade was a 4.96% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have bought 6,192 shares of company stock worth $576,979 and have sold 7,539 shares worth $706,906. Corporate insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sempra Energy

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of SRE. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in Sempra Energy by 52.5% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 18,008 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,285,000 after buying an additional 6,196 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP lifted its stake in Sempra Energy by 40.7% in the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 53,512 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,819,000 after buying an additional 15,474 shares in the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Sempra Energy by 6.2% in the 2nd quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 14,699 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,114,000 after buying an additional 858 shares in the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC lifted its stake in Sempra Energy by 78.5% in the 2nd quarter. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC now owns 771 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $58,000 after buying an additional 339 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. lifted its stake in Sempra Energy by 80.0% in the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 423,280 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $32,072,000 after buying an additional 188,131 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

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.