Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) Short Interest Up 29.9% in February

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in February. As of February 13th, there was short interest totaling 11,281,352 shares, a growth of 29.9% from the January 29th total of 8,681,923 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 4,542,431 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.5 days. Currently, 1.7% of the company’s stock are short sold. Currently, 1.7% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 4,542,431 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.5 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SRE has been the subject of several analyst reports. UBS Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $100.00 price target on shares of Sempra Energy in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Sempra Energy in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Barclays set a $95.00 price objective on shares of Sempra Energy and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Sempra Energy from $112.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. Finally, Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $99.00 price target (up from $80.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a research report on Monday, November 24th. One equities research 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. According to data from MarketBeat, Sempra Energy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $99.20.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sempra Energy

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in SRE. Pure Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Sempra Energy by 29.2% during the fourth quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC now owns 46,776 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,130,000 after purchasing an additional 10,584 shares during the period. EJMK Ventures LLC purchased a new position in shares of Sempra Energy during the 4th quarter valued at about $226,000. Tobam bought a new position in shares of Sempra Energy during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $389,000. Groupama Asset Managment increased its holdings in Sempra Energy by 20.9% in the 4th quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 603,131 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $53,250,000 after acquiring an additional 104,242 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MidFirst Bank purchased a new stake in Sempra Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,776,000. 89.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Sempra Energy Stock Performance

Shares of SRE traded up $0.06 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $95.42. 2,470,293 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,729,578. The stock has a market cap of $62.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.57, a P/E/G ratio of 3.57 and a beta of 0.73. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $90.09 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $89.06. Sempra Energy has a 1 year low of $61.90 and a 1 year high of $97.44. 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 issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $1.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $3.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.82 billion. Sempra Energy had a net margin of 13.27% and a return on equity of 8.22%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.50 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate 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. Investors of record on Thursday, March 19th will be given a dividend of $0.6575 per share. This represents a $2.63 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. This is a boost 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 currently 93.48%.

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.