Sempra Energy $SRE Shares Sold by Norden Group LLC

Norden Group LLC trimmed its holdings in Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) by 7.8% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,029 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 677 shares during the period. Norden Group LLC’s holdings in Sempra Energy were worth $608,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SRE. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in Sempra Energy by 26.8% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 48,686,047 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,474,236,000 after acquiring an additional 10,278,893 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Sempra Energy in the 1st quarter valued at about $192,130,000. PointState Capital LP acquired a new stake in Sempra Energy in the 1st quarter valued at about $154,369,000. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC acquired a new stake in Sempra Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at about $160,357,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in Sempra Energy by 42.7% in the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,647,990 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $331,681,000 after acquiring an additional 1,391,433 shares during the last quarter. 89.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Sempra Energy

In related news, Director Kevin C. Sagara sold 28,864 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.21, for a total value of $2,430,637.44. Following the transaction, the director owned 15,475 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,303,149.75. This trade represents a 65.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 1,576 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 23rd. The shares were 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 owned 15,600 shares in the company, valued at $1,248,000. The trade was a 9.18% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 35,554 shares of company stock worth $2,976,117. Company insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Sempra Energy Price Performance

SRE opened at $86.48 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $81.99 and its 200 day simple moving average is $76.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 0.48. Sempra Energy has a 1 year low of $61.90 and a 1 year high of $95.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $56.43 billion, a PE ratio of 20.89, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.65.

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

Sempra Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 1st will be issued a $0.645 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 1st. This represents a $2.58 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. Sempra Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.32%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $93.00 price objective (up from $86.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a research note on Wednesday. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Sempra Energy from $86.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $80.00 price target (up from $70.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a research note on Monday, August 4th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Sempra Energy from $88.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on shares of Sempra Energy from $71.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 26th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $84.55.

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.