AMI Asset Management Corp Boosts Stock Holdings in Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE)

AMI Asset Management Corp boosted its stake in shares of Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) by 61.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,652 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,034 shares during the period. AMI Asset Management Corp’s holdings in Sempra Energy were worth $760,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of SRE. Sigma Planning Corp raised its stake in shares of Sempra Energy by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 6,423 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $563,000 after acquiring an additional 249 shares during the period. Wealthspire Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Sempra Energy by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC now owns 5,263 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $462,000 after acquiring an additional 214 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Sempra Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $1,472,000. IFP Advisors Inc raised its stake in shares of Sempra Energy by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 3,210 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $295,000 after acquiring an additional 159 shares during the period. Finally, Crestwood Advisors Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Sempra Energy by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC now owns 4,900 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $430,000 after acquiring an additional 179 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on SRE. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Sempra Energy from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the company from $99.00 to $76.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. UBS Group lowered shares of Sempra Energy from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $95.00 to $78.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Sempra Energy from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Guggenheim lowered their price target on shares of Sempra Energy from $95.00 to $87.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Mizuho lowered their price target on shares of Sempra Energy from $92.00 to $76.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $80.83.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Justin Christopher Bird sold 4,817 shares of Sempra Energy 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 19,778 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,408,786.94. The trade was a 19.59% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Diana L. Day sold 8,015 shares of Sempra Energy stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.26, for a total transaction of $595,193.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 16,969 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,260,117.94. This trade represents a 32.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.27% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Sempra Energy Price Performance

Shares of SRE stock opened at $75.10 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $48.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.57 and a quick ratio of 0.51. Sempra Energy has a 1-year low of $61.90 and a 1-year high of $95.77. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $75.56 and a two-hundred day moving average of $77.49.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The utilities provider reported $1.44 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.32 by $0.12. The company 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.34 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Sempra Energy will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 26th will be issued a dividend of $0.645 per share. This represents a $2.58 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 26th. Sempra Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 56.70%.

Sempra Energy 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.