Delta Investment Management LLC Reduces Stake in Sempra Energy $SRE

Delta Investment Management LLC decreased its stake in shares of Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) by 15.4% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 3,049 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 555 shares during the period. Delta Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Sempra Energy were worth $231,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Sempra Energy by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 64,238,102 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,584,032,000 after purchasing an additional 1,220,047 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy by 26.8% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 48,686,047 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,474,236,000 after acquiring an additional 10,278,893 shares in the last quarter. Newport Trust Company LLC raised its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Newport Trust Company LLC now owns 13,331,160 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $951,312,000 after acquiring an additional 41,104 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy by 4.0% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 7,520,600 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $536,671,000 after acquiring an additional 291,026 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy by 12.4% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 7,489,903 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $534,479,000 after acquiring an additional 823,663 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Sempra Energy

In related news, Director Kevin C. Sagara sold 28,864 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.21, for a total transaction of $2,430,637.44. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 15,475 shares in the company, valued at $1,303,149.75. This trade represents a 65.10% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Caroline Ann Winn sold 5,114 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.01, for a total value of $419,399.14. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 39,380 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,229,553.80. The trade was a 11.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 48,411 shares of company stock worth $4,141,790. 0.27% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Sempra Energy Price Performance

Shares of Sempra Energy stock opened at $93.18 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $60.80 billion, a PE ratio of 22.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.66. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $86.55 and its 200-day moving average price is $79.97. Sempra Energy has a 12 month low of $61.90 and a 12 month high of $95.77.

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

Sempra Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 1st were given a dividend of $0.645 per share. This represents a $2.58 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, October 1st. Sempra Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.32%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SRE has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Barclays set a $101.00 price target on Sempra Energy and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 20th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Sempra Energy from $95.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on Sempra Energy in a report on Monday. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $115.00 price target on the stock. Mizuho raised their price target on Sempra Energy from $86.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 24th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $89.00 price target on Sempra Energy and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Sempra Energy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $94.00.

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.