PDS Planning Inc Boosts Stake in Sempra Energy $SRE

PDS Planning Inc raised its stake in shares of Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) by 8.3% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,899 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 298 shares during the period. PDS Planning Inc’s holdings in Sempra Energy were worth $295,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of SRE. Tritonpoint Wealth LLC increased its holdings 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 in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. boosted its position in Sempra Energy by 1.7% during the first quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 8,169 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $583,000 after acquiring an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. Pingora Partners LLC boosted its holdings 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 valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy by 5.0% in the 1st quarter. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft now owns 2,988 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $211,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Applied Finance Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC now owns 11,334 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $809,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Sempra Energy Stock Performance

Shares of SRE opened at $90.15 on Monday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $84.32 and its 200-day moving average is $78.14. Sempra Energy has a 12 month low of $61.90 and a 12 month high of $95.77. The firm has a market cap of $58.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a quick ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93.

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

Sempra Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 1st will be issued a $0.645 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 1st. This represents a $2.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. Sempra Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 62.32%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SRE has been the topic of a number of research reports. Evercore ISI set a $105.00 target price on shares of Sempra Energy and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 6th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Sempra Energy from $88.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, September 25th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $93.00 target price (up from $86.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a research note on Wednesday, September 24th. Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Sempra Energy from $86.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 24th. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $80.00 price target (up from $70.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Sempra Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $86.09.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sempra Energy

In other Sempra Energy news, EVP Caroline Ann Winn sold 5,114 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 39,380 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,229,553.80. This represents a 11.49% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Kevin C. Sagara sold 14,433 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.50, for a total transaction 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 approximately $93,259. This trade represents a 93.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 49,987 shares of company stock valued at $4,267,870 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

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.