Flaharty Asset Management LLC Takes Position in Sempra Energy $SRE

Flaharty Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund bought 1,350 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $96,000.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Mattson Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in Sempra Energy during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Pingora Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy by 48.3% in the first quarter. Pingora Partners LLC now owns 430 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. Park Square Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Sempra Energy during the fourth quarter valued at about $41,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Sempra Energy during the first quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Eastern Bank boosted its holdings in Sempra Energy by 73.7% during the first quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 580 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 246 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on SRE shares. Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $80.00 price objective (up previously from $70.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Barclays increased their price target on Sempra Energy from $71.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Sempra Energy in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $82.33.

Insider Transactions at Sempra Energy

In related news, EVP Caroline Ann Winn sold 5,114 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.01, for a total transaction of $419,399.14. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 39,380 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,229,553.80. This represents a 11.49% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 1,576 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total value of $126,080.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 15,600 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,248,000. The trade was a 9.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Sempra Energy Stock Up 2.0%

Sempra Energy stock opened at $81.96 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $79.98 and a 200-day moving average price of $75.55. The company has a quick ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. Sempra Energy has a twelve month low of $61.90 and a twelve month high of $95.77. The company has a market capitalization of $53.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.65.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.07. Sempra Energy had a return on equity of 8.42% and a net margin of 20.28%.The business had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.35 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.89 earnings per share. Sempra Energy’s revenue for the quarter was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Sempra Energy will post 4.76 EPS for the current year.

Sempra Energy Company 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.