Forsta AP Fonden Increases Stock Position in Sempra Energy $SRE

Forsta AP Fonden raised its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 143,500 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,300 shares during the period. Forsta AP Fonden’s holdings in Sempra Energy were worth $10,873,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of SRE. Westside Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy by 51.2% during the second 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. NewSquare Capital LLC increased its holdings in Sempra Energy by 245.1% in the 2nd quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 421 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 299 shares in the last quarter. Pingora Partners LLC increased its holdings in 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 buying an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. raised its position in Sempra Energy by 230.8% in the 2nd 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 lifted its stake in Sempra Energy by 74.1% during the 2nd quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 444 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 189 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Sempra Energy Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of SRE stock opened at $92.23 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. Sempra Energy has a 12 month low of $61.90 and a 12 month high of $95.77. The stock has a market cap of $60.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $89.26 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $81.85.

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

Sempra Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 15th. Shareholders 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 yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 11th. Sempra Energy’s payout ratio is currently 79.14%.

Insider Transactions at Sempra Energy

In other Sempra Energy news, Director Kevin C. Sagara sold 14,433 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.50, for a total value of $1,291,753.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 1,042 shares in the company, valued at $93,259. This represents a 93.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 4,322 shares of Sempra Energy stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.55, for a total value of $400,001.10. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 11,325 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,048,128.75. The trade was a 27.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 47,619 shares of company stock valued at $4,122,392. Company insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on SRE shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Sempra Energy in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating and set a $80.00 price objective (up previously from $70.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $89.00 target price on shares of Sempra Energy and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. 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. Finally, BTIG Research upgraded Sempra Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.