New York State Common Retirement Fund Cuts Position in Sempra Energy $SRE

New York State Common Retirement Fund reduced its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 773,497 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 42,300 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund’s holdings in Sempra Energy were worth $69,599,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in SRE. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Sempra Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Sempra Energy by 51.2% in the second quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 375 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares during the period. NewSquare Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Sempra Energy by 245.1% in the second quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 421 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 299 shares during the period. Bogart Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Sempra Energy by 74.1% in the second quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 444 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 189 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hartford Funds Management Co LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Sempra Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at about $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Sempra Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SRE opened at $87.17 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.56, a current ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $89.25 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $87.05. Sempra Energy has a 52-week low of $61.90 and a 52-week high of $95.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $56.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.74, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.74.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.11 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.84 by $0.27. The business had revenue of $3.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.99 billion. Sempra Energy had a return on equity of 8.67% and a net margin of 15.63%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 13.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.89 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Sempra Energy will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Sempra Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 11th were paid a $0.645 dividend. This represents a $2.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 11th. Sempra Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 79.14%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SRE has been the subject of several recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group set a $89.00 price objective on shares of Sempra Energy and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $97.00 price target (down previously from $98.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. BMO Capital Markets increased 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. Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $99.00 price objective (up from $80.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a report on Monday, November 24th. Finally, Evercore ISI set a $105.00 target price on Sempra Energy and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $95.83.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Sempra Energy news, CFO Karen L. Sedgwick sold 7,564 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.29, for a total transaction of $698,081.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 41,280 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,809,731.20. The trade was a 15.49% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Dyan Z. Wold sold 1,510 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.38, for a total transaction of $137,983.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 3,481 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $318,093.78. This trade represents a 30.25% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 19,396 shares of company stock valued at $1,785,606. 0.27% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Sempra Energy Company Profile

Sempra Energy is a San Diego–based energy infrastructure company that develops, owns and operates businesses delivering electricity and natural gas. Its operations include regulated utility services that provide electric and gas distribution to residential, commercial and industrial customers, as well as non?regulated infrastructure businesses that develop and manage large-scale energy assets.

The company’s product and service portfolio spans electricity and natural gas delivery, transmission and storage, liquefied natural gas (LNG) facilities, power generation and electric transmission projects.