Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Acquires 300 Shares of Sempra Energy $SRE

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System boosted its holdings in Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) by 0.9% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 34,400 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Sempra Energy were worth $2,606,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in SRE. Pingora Partners LLC lifted its stake in Sempra Energy by 48.3% in the first quarter. Pingora Partners LLC now owns 430 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. lifted its stake in Sempra Energy by 230.8% in the second quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 430 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Sempra Energy in the first quarter valued at $38,000. Eastern Bank lifted its stake in Sempra Energy by 73.7% in the first quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 580 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 246 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barrett & Company Inc. acquired a new stake in Sempra Energy in the second quarter valued at $51,000. Institutional investors own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Sempra Energy Stock Performance

NYSE SRE opened at $91.66 on Friday. Sempra Energy has a 52-week low of $61.90 and a 52-week high of $95.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 0.48. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $84.14 and a 200-day moving average of $77.89. The stock has a market cap of $59.81 billion, a PE ratio of 22.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.66.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.07. Sempra Energy had a net margin of 20.28% and a return on equity of 8.42%. The business had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.35 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.89 EPS. The business’s revenue was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Sempra Energy will post 4.76 EPS for the current year.

Sempra Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 1st will be paid a $0.645 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 1st. This represents a $2.58 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. Sempra Energy’s payout ratio is 62.32%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Sempra Energy news, EVP Caroline Ann Winn sold 5,114 shares of Sempra Energy stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.01, for a total value of $419,399.14. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 39,380 shares in the company, valued at $3,229,553.80. The trade was a 11.49% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Kevin C. Sagara sold 14,433 shares of Sempra Energy stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.50, for a total transaction of $1,291,753.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 1,042 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $93,259. This trade represents a 93.27% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 49,987 shares of company stock worth $4,267,870 in the last quarter. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on SRE shares. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Sempra Energy from $88.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Sempra Energy from $71.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 26th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Sempra Energy in a research note on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $93.00 target price (up previously from $86.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a research note on Wednesday, September 24th. Finally, Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Sempra Energy from $86.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 24th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $86.09.

Sempra Energy Profile

Sempra operates as an energy infrastructure company in the United States and internationally. It operates through three segments: Sempra California, Sempra Texas Utilities, and Sempra Infrastructure. The Sempra California segment provides electric services; and natural gas services to San Diego County.