Sempra Energy $SRE Shares Sold by M&G PLC

M&G PLC lessened its stake in Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) by 4.1% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 880,996 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 37,257 shares during the period. M&G PLC owned 0.14% of Sempra Energy worth $66,956,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in SRE. Westside Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Sempra Energy by 51.2% during the 2nd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 375 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Pingora Partners LLC grew its stake 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 during the last quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC lifted its stake in 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. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. grew its position in 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 buying an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bogart Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy by 74.1% in the second quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 444 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 189 shares in the last quarter. 89.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Kevin C. Sagara sold 28,864 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.21, for a total value of $2,430,637.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 15,475 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,303,149.75. The trade was a 65.10% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Caroline Ann Winn sold 5,114 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.01, for a total value of $419,399.14. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 39,380 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,229,553.80. The trade was a 11.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 52,733 shares of company stock worth $4,541,791 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Sempra Energy Stock Up 0.7%

NYSE:SRE opened at $93.59 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $61.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 0.48. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $88.86 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $81.71. Sempra Energy has a 52-week low of $61.90 and a 52-week high of $95.77.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $3.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.99 billion. Sempra Energy had a return on equity of 8.42% and a net margin of 20.28%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 13.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.89 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Sempra Energy will post 4.76 EPS for the current year.

Sempra Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.645 per share. This represents a $2.58 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 11th. Sempra Energy’s payout ratio is 79.14%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on SRE shares. Wall Street Zen raised Sempra Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Sempra Energy in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $99.00 target price on shares of Sempra Energy in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Barclays cut their price objective on Sempra Energy from $101.00 to $98.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 6th. Finally, 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and six have assigned 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 price target of $95.42.

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.