ProShare Advisors LLC Buys 24,962 Shares of Sempra Energy $SRE

ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) by 17.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 166,978 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 24,962 shares during the quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC’s holdings in Sempra Energy were worth $12,652,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Westside Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Sempra Energy by 51.2% during the 2nd 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. Pingora Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy by 48.3% during the first quarter. Pingora Partners LLC now owns 430 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Sempra Energy by 245.1% during the second quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 421 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 299 shares in the last quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. increased its position in shares of Sempra Energy by 230.8% during the second quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 430 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bogart Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Sempra Energy by 74.1% in the 2nd quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 444 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 189 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Sempra Energy Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of NYSE:SRE opened at $93.59 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $88.86 and a 200 day moving average of $81.71. The company has a market cap of $61.09 billion, a PE ratio of 22.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.68. 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.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.11 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $3.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.99 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.89 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 13.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Sempra Energy will post 4.76 EPS for the current year.

Sempra Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.645 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 11th. This represents a $2.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. Sempra Energy’s payout ratio is 79.14%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 4,322 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 7th. The stock was 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 $1,048,128.75. The trade was a 27.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Caroline Ann Winn sold 5,114 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.01, for a total value of $419,399.14. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 39,380 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,229,553.80. This represents a 11.49% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders sold 52,733 shares of company stock valued at $4,541,791. Company insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SRE has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. BTIG Research upgraded Sempra Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Wall Street Zen raised Sempra Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Sempra Energy from $95.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on Sempra Energy in a research report on Monday, October 27th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $115.00 target price for the company. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Sempra Energy from $101.00 to $98.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.