Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. Sells 19,663 Shares of Sempra Energy $SRE

Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. reduced its stake in Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) by 8.8% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 204,104 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 19,663 shares during the quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Sempra Energy were worth $18,020,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of SRE. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Sempra Energy in the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Ares Financial Consulting LLC purchased a new stake in Sempra Energy in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Activest Wealth Management increased its stake in Sempra Energy by 74.6% in the 3rd quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 391 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. Board of the Pension Protection Fund purchased a new stake in Sempra Energy in the 4th quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Salomon & Ludwin LLC increased its stake in Sempra Energy by 88.8% in the 4th quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 406 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 191 shares in the last quarter. 89.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Sempra Energy Trading Up 2.6%

SRE opened at $95.09 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $62.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.45, a P/E/G ratio of 3.50 and a beta of 0.67. Sempra Energy has a 12 month low of $73.06 and a 12 month high of $101.04. The company has a current ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $95.13 and a 200 day moving average of $91.96.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $1.28 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $3.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.82 billion. Sempra Energy had a return on equity of 8.22% and a net margin of 13.27%.The firm’s revenue was down .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.50 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Sempra Energy will post 5.1 EPS for the current year.

Sempra Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 19th were given a $0.6575 dividend. This is an increase from Sempra Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. This represents a $2.63 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 19th. Sempra Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 95.29%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on SRE. Wall Street Zen lowered Sempra Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Sunday, March 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Sempra Energy from $98.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 18th. Argus upgraded Sempra Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Sempra Energy in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Truist Financial set a $108.00 price target on Sempra Energy and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $102.67.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Karen L. Sedgwick sold 4,872 shares of Sempra Energy stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.58, for a total value of $451,049.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 39,029 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,613,304.82. This trade represents a 11.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Dyan Z. Wold sold 1,539 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.38, for a total transaction of $146,789.82. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 4,633 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $441,895.54. The trade was a 24.94% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders have bought 6,192 shares of company stock valued at $576,979 and have sold 7,539 shares valued at $706,906. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

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.