Sempra Energy $SRE Shares Purchased by Petix & Botte Co

Petix & Botte Co grew its holdings in Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) by 8.9% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 21,786 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,786 shares during the period. Petix & Botte Co’s holdings in Sempra Energy were worth $1,651,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of SRE. Jacobi Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Sempra Energy by 10.3% in the 1st quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC now owns 5,641 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $403,000 after purchasing an additional 526 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in Sempra Energy by 21.6% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 3,656,805 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $260,950,000 after acquiring an additional 648,530 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its position in Sempra Energy by 7.0% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 3,495,527 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $249,435,000 after acquiring an additional 229,045 shares during the period. Energy Income Partners LLC increased its stake in Sempra Energy by 2.5% during the first quarter. Energy Income Partners LLC now owns 2,182,448 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $155,739,000 after acquiring an additional 52,838 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Panagora Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Sempra Energy by 46.0% in the first quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 37,501 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,676,000 after purchasing an additional 11,811 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Sempra Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SRE opened at $92.52 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.48 and a quick ratio of 0.41. The company has a market cap of $60.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.68. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $89.06 and its two-hundred day moving average is $81.78. Sempra Energy has a 1-year low of $61.90 and a 1-year high of $95.77.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.11 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.84 by $0.27. Sempra Energy had a return on equity of 8.42% and a net margin of 20.28%.The business had revenue of $3.15 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.99 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.89 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Sempra Energy will post 4.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 11th will be paid a $0.645 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 11th. This represents a $2.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. Sempra Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 79.14%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 4,322 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.55, for a total transaction of $400,001.10. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 11,325 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,048,128.75. The trade was a 27.62% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Kevin C. Sagara sold 28,864 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.21, for a total transaction of $2,430,637.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 15,475 shares in the company, valued at $1,303,149.75. This trade represents a 65.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 47,619 shares of company stock valued at $4,122,392. Insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $80.00 target price (up previously from $70.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $89.00 target price on shares of Sempra Energy and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Barclays decreased their price target on Sempra Energy from $101.00 to $98.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. BTIG Research upgraded Sempra Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Sempra Energy from $95.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.