[quote=DataAgent]If you like dividend-paying companies that are currently hiring people, look at utility companies. Sempra Energy – Ticker: SRE (parent of San Diego Gas & Electric) is a utility company.[/quote]

I must point out that Sempra does not perfectly fit the profile of a pure utility company–around 50% of Sempra’s earnings come from its non-utility subsidiaries whose earnings are “at-risk,” unlike its regulated utilities that have guaranteed rights to collect revenues from customers and can thus provide returns to shareholders.*

I encourage you to read the annual 10-K filing and do your due diligence before investing in any corporation. If you do not know how to read financial statements then you have no business purchasing individual stocks as you are speculating and not investing. You would be better served parking your hard-earned $$$ in an index fund or ETF.

*Disclosure: I am a Sempra employee but the views I express here are my own and not those of my employer. I am neither advocating for or against the purchase of Sempra stock.