Sempra Energy $SRE Stake Increased by Mraz Amerine & Associates Inc.

Mraz Amerine & Associates Inc. lifted its holdings in Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) by 34.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,168 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,079 shares during the period. Mraz Amerine & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Sempra Energy were worth $316,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Pingora Partners LLC boosted its position in Sempra Energy by 48.3% during the 1st quarter. Pingora Partners LLC now owns 430 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares during the period. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. lifted its position in shares of Sempra Energy by 230.8% in the second 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. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Sempra Energy in the first quarter worth approximately $38,000. Eastern Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy by 73.7% during the first quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 580 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 246 shares during the period. Finally, Barrett & Company Inc. purchased a new position in Sempra Energy during the second quarter valued at approximately $51,000. 89.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SRE has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Evercore ISI set a $105.00 target price on shares of Sempra Energy and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday. Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $80.00 price objective (up from $70.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a report on Monday, August 4th. Mizuho boosted their target price on Sempra Energy from $86.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 24th. Barclays upped their target price on Sempra Energy from $71.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $93.00 price target (up from $86.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a report on Wednesday, September 24th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Sempra Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $86.09.

Sempra Energy Price Performance

NYSE SRE opened at $92.41 on Tuesday. Sempra Energy has a fifty-two week low of $61.90 and a fifty-two week high of $95.77. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $83.44 and its two-hundred day moving average is $77.52. The firm has a market cap of $60.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.48 and a quick ratio of 0.41.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.07. Sempra Energy had a return on equity of 8.42% and a net margin of 20.28%.The business had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.35 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.89 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Sempra Energy will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 1st will be paid a $0.645 dividend. This represents a $2.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 1st. Sempra Energy’s payout ratio is presently 62.32%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Caroline Ann Winn sold 5,114 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.01, for a total value of $419,399.14. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 39,380 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,229,553.80. This trade represents a 11.49% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 1,576 shares of Sempra Energy stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total transaction of $126,080.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 15,600 shares in the company, valued at $1,248,000. This trade represents a 9.18% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 49,987 shares of company stock valued at $4,267,870. Company insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

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.