LGT Group Foundation Sells 6,449 Shares of Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE)

LGT Group Foundation reduced its position in Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) by 24.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 19,750 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 6,449 shares during the quarter. LGT Group Foundation’s holdings in Sempra Energy were worth $1,409,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mattson Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Sempra Energy during the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Sempra Energy during the first quarter valued at $38,000. Park Square Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Sempra Energy during the fourth quarter valued at $41,000. Eastern Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy by 73.7% during the first quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 580 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 246 shares during the period. Finally, Cary Street Partners Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Sempra Energy during the fourth quarter valued at $56,000. 89.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on SRE shares. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on Sempra Energy from $77.00 to $75.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $80.00 price objective (up from $70.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a report on Monday, August 4th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $88.00 price target (up from $87.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Sempra Energy from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on Sempra Energy from $72.00 to $71.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $81.58.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 1,576 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total transaction of $126,080.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 15,600 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,248,000. The trade was a 9.18% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Sempra Energy Price Performance

Shares of SRE stock opened at $82.08 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $77.23 and a 200 day moving average price of $75.71. The company has a quick ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. The firm has a market cap of $53.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.83, a PEG ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.62. Sempra Energy has a 12 month low of $61.90 and a 12 month high of $95.77.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.35 billion. Sempra Energy had a return on equity of 8.42% and a net margin of 20.28%. The company’s revenue was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.89 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Sempra Energy will post 4.76 EPS for the current year.

Sempra Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 26th were given a dividend of $0.645 per share. This represents a $2.58 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 26th. Sempra Energy’s payout ratio is presently 62.32%.

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.