Spectra Energy Corp. (NYSE:SE) has received an “A-” credit rating from Morningstar. The research firm’s “A-” rating suggests that the company is a low default risk. They also gave their stock a four star rating.

In other news, Director Michael E. J. Phelps sold 1,125 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.00, for a total value of $30,375.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 86,678 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,340,306. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Other large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Baker Avenue Asset Management raised its stake in Spectra Energy Corp. by 1.4% in the third quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management now owns 18,421 shares of the company’s stock valued at $484,000 after buying an additional 253 shares during the last quarter. Beacon Financial Group raised its stake in Spectra Energy Corp. by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Beacon Financial Group now owns 265,479 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,299,000 after buying an additional 12,696 shares during the last quarter. ING Groep raised its stake in Spectra Energy Corp. by 3.7% in the third quarter. ING Groep now owns 429,419 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,277,000 after buying an additional 15,357 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Meag Munich Ergo Kapitalanlagegesellschaft purchased a new stake in Spectra Energy Corp. during the third quarter valued at $2,064,000.

Spectra Energy Corp. (NYSE:SE) opened at 27.11 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $18.20 billion and a PE ratio of 23.57. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $24.38 and a 200 day moving average of $27.33. Spectra Energy Corp. has a 52 week low of $21.43 and a 52 week high of $38.47.

Spectra Energy Corp. (NYSE:SE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The company reported $0.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $0.22 by $0.01. The business earned $1.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.30 billion. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.31 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Spectra Energy Corp. will post $1.17 EPS for the current year.

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 12th will be issued a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.98%. This is a positive change from Spectra Energy Corp.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 10th.

SE has been the subject of several other research reports. Jefferies Group restated a “hold” rating and issued a $35.00 target price (down previously from $36.00) on shares of Spectra Energy Corp. in a research report on Thursday, December 3rd. Raymond James upgraded shares of Spectra Energy Corp. from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $31.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, January 4th. Wells Fargo initiated coverage on shares of Spectra Energy Corp. in a research note on Friday, December 18th. They set a “market perform” rating on the stock. Finally, Argus dropped their target price on Spectra Energy Corp. from $40.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 24th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $35.13.

Spectra Energy Corp is a natural gas infrastructure company. The Company owns and operates natural gas-related energy assets and a crude oil pipeline system connecting Canadian and the United States producers to refineries in the United States Rocky Mountain and Midwest regions. It operates in three areas of the natural gas industry: gathering and processing, transmission and storage, and distribution. It conducts its business in four segments: Spectra Energy Partners, Distribution, Western Canada Transmission & Processing, and Field Services. It provides transmission and storage of natural gas to customers in various regions of the northeastern and southeastern United States, the Maritime Provinces in Canada, the Pacific Northwest in the United States and Canada, and in the province of Ontario, Canada. It also provides natural gas sales and distribution services to retail customers in Ontario, and natural gas gathering and processing services to customers in western Canada.

12 Month Chart for NYSE:SE

To view more credit ratings from Morningstar, visit www.jdoqocy.comclick-7674909-10651170.

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