Prospera Financial Services Inc Increases Position in Sempra Energy $SRE

Prospera Financial Services Inc lifted its position in Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) by 7.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 40,883 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,909 shares during the period. Prospera Financial Services Inc’s holdings in Sempra Energy were worth $3,098,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SRE. Westside Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of 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. Mendel Money Management lifted its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy by 1.6% during the second quarter. Mendel Money Management now owns 8,476 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $642,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the period. Tritonpoint Wealth LLC boosted its position in Sempra Energy by 2.2% in the second quarter. Tritonpoint Wealth LLC now owns 5,999 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $458,000 after buying an additional 132 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. boosted its position in Sempra Energy by 1.7% in the first quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 8,169 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $583,000 after buying an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Sempra Energy by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 25,370 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,922,000 after buying an additional 139 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Sempra Energy Price Performance

Sempra Energy stock opened at $93.63 on Monday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $88.43 and its 200 day moving average price is $81.44. Sempra Energy has a 1 year low of $61.90 and a 1 year high of $95.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $61.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.62, a P/E/G ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.68. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $3.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.99 billion. Sempra Energy had a net margin of 20.28% and a return on equity of 8.42%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.89 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Sempra Energy will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 11th will be given a dividend of $0.645 per share. This represents a $2.58 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 11th. Sempra Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 79.14%.

Insider Activity at Sempra Energy

In other Sempra Energy news, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 4,322 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.55, for a total transaction of $400,001.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 11,325 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,048,128.75. This represents a 27.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Kevin C. Sagara sold 28,864 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.21, for a total value of $2,430,637.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 15,475 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,303,149.75. This trade represents a 65.10% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders have sold 52,733 shares of company stock valued at $4,541,791. 0.27% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on SRE shares. Jefferies Financial Group set a $89.00 price objective on shares of Sempra Energy and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Sempra Energy from $95.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on shares of Sempra Energy in a report on Monday, October 27th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $115.00 price target on the stock. Mizuho increased their price target on Sempra Energy from $86.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 24th. Finally, BTIG Research raised Sempra Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $95.42.

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.