Spirepoint Private Client LLC Purchases 6,107 Shares of Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE)

Spirepoint Private Client LLC increased its position in Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) by 53.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 17,639 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,107 shares during the period. Spirepoint Private Client LLC’s holdings in Sempra Energy were worth $1,259,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Sempra Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sempra Energy in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. TCTC Holdings LLC lifted its position in Sempra Energy by 265.2% in the 4th quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 336 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 244 shares in the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Sempra Energy during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Mattson Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in Sempra Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Sempra Energy

In other news, insider Diana L. Day sold 8,015 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.26, for a total transaction of $595,193.90. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 16,969 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,260,117.94. This represents a 32.08% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Justin Christopher Bird sold 4,817 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.23, for a total value of $343,114.91. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 19,778 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,408,786.94. This represents a 19.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Sempra Energy Stock Performance

NYSE:SRE opened at $75.84 on Tuesday. Sempra Energy has a 1 year low of $61.90 and a 1 year high of $95.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.57 and a quick ratio of 0.51. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $75.35 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $77.52. The company has a market capitalization of $49.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.67, a P/E/G ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 0.64.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The utilities provider reported $1.44 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.32 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $3.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.90 billion. Sempra Energy had a net margin of 22.15% and a return on equity of 8.55%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.34 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Sempra Energy will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Sempra Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 26th will be given a $0.645 dividend. This represents a $2.58 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 26th. Sempra Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 56.70%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on SRE shares. Guggenheim dropped their target price on Sempra Energy from $95.00 to $87.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Barclays cut Sempra Energy from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $95.00 to $72.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. UBS Group downgraded shares of Sempra Energy from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $95.00 to $78.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Mizuho cut their price target on shares of Sempra Energy from $92.00 to $76.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Sempra Energy from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $99.00 to $76.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $80.83.

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.