NorthRock Partners LLC Trims Stock Position in Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE)

NorthRock Partners LLC lessened its position in shares of Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) by 18.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 5,538 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,246 shares during the quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC’s holdings in Sempra Energy were worth $399,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in SRE. FMR LLC increased its holdings in Sempra Energy by 8.0% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 20,489,918 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,797,376,000 after purchasing an additional 1,511,313 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in Sempra Energy by 8.1% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,181,693 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $629,978,000 after purchasing an additional 538,919 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in Sempra Energy by 70.6% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,666,240 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $584,763,000 after purchasing an additional 2,758,037 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in Sempra Energy by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,168,360 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $368,814,000 after purchasing an additional 25,254 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its holdings in Sempra Energy by 71.3% in the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 4,651,923 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $408,069,000 after purchasing an additional 1,936,865 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Sempra Energy Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of NYSE SRE opened at $80.97 on Friday. Sempra Energy has a 1 year low of $61.90 and a 1 year high of $95.77. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $76.67 and its 200 day moving average price is $75.87. The firm has a market cap of $52.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a current ratio of 0.57.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The utilities provider reported $1.44 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.32 by $0.12. Sempra Energy had a net margin of 22.15% and a return on equity of 8.55%. The business had revenue of $3.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.90 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.34 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate 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 Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 26th were given a $0.645 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 26th. This represents a $2.58 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. Sempra Energy’s payout ratio is presently 56.70%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on SRE. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Sempra Energy from $72.00 to $71.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $88.00 price target (up previously from $87.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on shares of Sempra Energy from $77.00 to $75.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Sempra Energy from $93.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Sempra Energy from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Sempra Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $80.75.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Diana L. Day sold 8,015 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.26, for a total value of $595,193.90. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 16,969 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,260,117.94. The trade was a 32.08% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 1,576 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total transaction of $126,080.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 15,600 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,248,000. This represents a 9.18% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Sempra Energy Company 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.