IFP Advisors Inc Lowers Stock Position in Sempra Energy $SRE

IFP Advisors Inc lessened its holdings in Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) by 20.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,455 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 644 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc’s holdings in Sempra Energy were worth $186,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Pingora Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Sempra Energy by 48.3% during the 1st quarter. Pingora Partners LLC now owns 430 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. raised its stake 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 acquiring an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Eastern Bank raised its stake in shares of Sempra Energy by 73.7% during the 1st quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 580 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 246 shares in the last quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. bought a new position in shares of Sempra Energy during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $51,000. Finally, Spire Wealth Management raised its stake in shares of Sempra Energy by 44.7% during the 1st quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 1,026 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $73,000 after acquiring an additional 317 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Sempra Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SRE opened at $91.26 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $85.25 and its 200 day moving average price is $78.75. Sempra Energy has a 1 year low of $61.90 and a 1 year high of $95.77. The company has a market capitalization of $59.54 billion, a PE ratio of 22.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 0.48.

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

Sempra Energy Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Mizuho boosted their price objective 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. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $93.00 price target (up previously from $86.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a research note on Wednesday, September 24th. BMO Capital Markets upped 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 upped 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. Finally, Evercore ISI set a $105.00 price target on shares of Sempra Energy and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 6th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $86.09.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sempra Energy

In other Sempra Energy news, EVP Caroline Ann Winn sold 5,114 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.01, for a total transaction of $419,399.14. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 39,380 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,229,553.80. This trade represents a 11.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Kevin C. Sagara sold 28,864 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 15th. The shares were 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 approximately $1,303,149.75. The trade was a 65.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 49,987 shares of company stock valued at $4,267,870 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Sempra Energy Company 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.