DLK Investment Management LLC Trims Stock Holdings in Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE)

DLK Investment Management LLC lowered its position in shares of Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) by 6.5% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 20,127 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,400 shares during the quarter. DLK Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Sempra Energy were worth $1,436,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in SRE. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Sempra Energy by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 63,018,055 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,527,944,000 after buying an additional 490,269 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of Sempra Energy by 11.9% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 38,407,154 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,369,076,000 after acquiring an additional 4,082,261 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of Sempra Energy by 8.0% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 20,489,918 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,797,376,000 after acquiring an additional 1,511,313 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Sempra Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $1,535,000,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Sempra Energy by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 13,072,966 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,143,248,000 after purchasing an additional 311,094 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Sempra Energy news, insider Diana L. Day sold 8,015 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.26, for a total transaction of $595,193.90. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 16,969 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,260,117.94. This trade represents a 32.08% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Justin Christopher Bird sold 4,817 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.23, for a total value of $343,114.91. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 19,778 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,408,786.94. The trade was a 19.59% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.27% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on SRE shares. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Sempra Energy from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on Sempra Energy from $77.00 to $75.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut Sempra Energy from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $99.00 to $76.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. UBS Group downgraded shares of Sempra Energy from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $95.00 to $78.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Guggenheim dropped their price objective on shares of Sempra Energy from $95.00 to $87.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Sempra Energy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $80.83.

Sempra Energy Trading Down 1.3%

Sempra Energy stock opened at $75.10 on Thursday. Sempra Energy has a 1 year low of $61.90 and a 1 year high of $95.77. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $75.56 and its 200-day moving average is $77.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a current ratio of 0.57. The company has a market cap of $48.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.51, a PEG ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 0.64.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The utilities provider reported $1.44 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.32 by $0.12. Sempra Energy had a net margin of 22.15% and a return on equity of 8.55%. The firm had revenue of $3.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.90 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.34 earnings per share. Sempra Energy’s quarterly revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Sempra Energy will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Sempra Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 26th will be given a dividend of $0.645 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 26th. This represents a $2.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.44%. Sempra Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 56.70%.

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.