VCI Wealth Management LLC Trims Position in Sempra Energy $SRE

VCI Wealth Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) by 41.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 11,088 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 7,786 shares during the period. VCI Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Sempra Energy were worth $998,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of SRE. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Sempra Energy in the 2nd quarter worth $701,649,000. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its position in shares of Sempra Energy by 786.1% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 2,957,399 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $224,082,000 after acquiring an additional 2,623,637 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp boosted its stake in shares of Sempra Energy by 809.5% in the second quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 2,750,891 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $208,435,000 after acquiring an additional 2,448,415 shares during the period. PointState Capital LP bought a new position in shares of Sempra Energy in the first quarter worth about $154,369,000. Finally, Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Sempra Energy during the second quarter worth about $160,357,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Sempra Energy news, EVP Caroline Ann Winn sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.70, for a total transaction of $45,850.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 33,664 shares in the company, valued at $3,086,988.80. This represents a 1.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Kevin C. Sagara sold 14,433 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.50, for a total value of $1,291,753.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 1,042 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $93,259. The trade was a 93.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders sold 33,829 shares of company stock worth $3,077,360. 0.27% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on SRE shares. Wall Street Zen raised Sempra Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, November 8th. UBS Group set a $96.00 price objective on shares of Sempra Energy and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. BTIG Research raised shares of Sempra Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Sempra Energy in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on shares of Sempra Energy in a research note on Monday, October 27th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $115.00 target price for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $96.17.

Sempra Energy Stock Up 0.2%

NYSE SRE opened at $88.84 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 1.56 and a current ratio of 1.59. The company has a market capitalization of $57.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.25, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.73. Sempra Energy has a one year low of $61.90 and a one year high of $95.72. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $91.15 and a 200-day moving average price of $84.71.

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 the consensus estimate of $0.84 by $0.27. The company had revenue of $3.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.99 billion. Sempra Energy had a net margin of 15.63% and a return on equity of 8.67%. Sempra Energy’s quarterly revenue was up 13.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.89 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Sempra Energy will post 4.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 15th. Stockholders 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 2.9%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 11th. Sempra Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 79.14%.

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.