Ameriflex Group Inc. Sells 658 Shares of Sempra Energy $SRE

Ameriflex Group Inc. cut its position in shares of Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) by 35.5% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,197 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 658 shares during the quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc.’s holdings in Sempra Energy were worth $90,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Pingora Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Sempra Energy by 48.3% in the 1st quarter. Pingora Partners LLC now owns 430 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the period. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. grew its position in shares of Sempra Energy by 230.8% during the 2nd quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 430 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sempra Energy in the 1st quarter valued at $38,000. Eastern Bank lifted its position in shares of Sempra Energy by 73.7% during the 1st 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 period. Finally, Barrett & Company Inc. bought a new position in Sempra Energy during the second quarter worth $51,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Sempra Energy news, EVP Caroline Ann Winn sold 5,114 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 39,380 shares in the company, valued at $3,229,553.80. The trade was a 11.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 1,576 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total transaction of $126,080.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 15,600 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,248,000. This represents a 9.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 49,987 shares of company stock valued at $4,267,870. 0.27% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Sempra Energy Trading Up 2.5%

Shares of SRE stock opened at $91.48 on Friday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $59.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.10, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.66. Sempra Energy has a 52-week low of $61.90 and a 52-week high of $95.77. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $83.20 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $77.31.

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

Sempra Energy Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on SRE. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $93.00 price objective (up previously from $86.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a research report on Wednesday, September 24th. Barclays upped their target price on Sempra Energy from $71.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 26th. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Sempra Energy from $86.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 24th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Sempra Energy from $88.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, September 25th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $80.00 price objective (up from $70.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a report on Monday, August 4th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $84.55.

About Sempra Energy

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.