Quadrature Capital Ltd Increases Stock Position in Sempra Energy $SRE

Quadrature Capital Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) by 147.2% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 27,412 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 16,323 shares during the period. Quadrature Capital Ltd’s holdings in Sempra Energy were worth $2,077,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Westside Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Sempra Energy by 51.2% during the second quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 375 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy by 245.1% during the second quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 421 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 299 shares during the last quarter. Pingora Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Sempra Energy by 48.3% in the 1st quarter. Pingora Partners LLC now owns 430 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. boosted its position in shares of Sempra Energy by 230.8% in the 2nd quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 430 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bogart Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Sempra Energy by 74.1% in the 2nd quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 444 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 189 shares during the last quarter. 89.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Sempra Energy news, EVP Caroline Ann Winn sold 5,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.58, for a total value of $503,690.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 34,164 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,128,739.12. This represents a 13.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 4,322 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.55, for a total value of $400,001.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 11,325 shares in the company, valued at $1,048,128.75. The trade was a 27.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders sold 62,693 shares of company stock worth $5,507,997. Insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Sempra Energy from $95.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $99.00 price target (up previously from $80.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a research report on Monday, November 24th. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of Sempra Energy in a research note on Monday, October 27th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $115.00 price target on the stock. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Sempra Energy from $101.00 to $98.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Finally, BTIG Research upgraded shares of 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 issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Sempra Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $96.92.

Sempra Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SRE opened at $94.72 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $91.55 and its 200-day moving average price is $83.23. The company has a quick ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. The company has a market cap of $61.82 billion, a PE ratio of 22.88, a PEG ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.68. Sempra Energy has a 52-week low of $61.90 and a 52-week high of $95.72.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.11 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.84 by $0.27. The firm had revenue of $3.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.99 billion. Sempra Energy had a net margin of 20.28% and a return on equity of 8.42%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.89 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Sempra Energy will post 4.76 EPS for the current year.

Sempra Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.645 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 11th. This represents a $2.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. Sempra Energy’s payout ratio is currently 79.14%.

About Sempra Energy

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.