Empower Advisory Group LLC Has $86.80 Million Holdings in Sempra Energy $SRE

Empower Advisory Group LLC raised its position in shares of Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) by 6.0% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,145,533 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 64,823 shares during the quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC owned 0.18% of Sempra Energy worth $86,797,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in SRE. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in Sempra Energy during the 1st quarter worth approximately $192,130,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp raised its stake in Sempra Energy by 809.5% during the 2nd quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 2,750,891 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $208,435,000 after purchasing an additional 2,448,415 shares during the period. PointState Capital LP acquired a new stake in Sempra Energy during the 1st quarter valued at $154,369,000. Finally, Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Sempra Energy in the second quarter valued at $160,357,000. 89.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sempra Energy

In related news, Director Kevin C. Sagara sold 14,433 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.50, for a total value of $1,291,753.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 1,042 shares in the company, valued at approximately $93,259. This represents a 93.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 4,322 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.55, for a total transaction 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 SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 47,619 shares of company stock valued at $4,122,392. 0.27% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Sempra Energy Stock Down 0.2%

SRE opened at $92.00 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $60.04 billion, a PE ratio of 22.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.48 and a quick ratio of 0.41. Sempra Energy has a fifty-two week low of $61.90 and a fifty-two week high of $95.77. The business has a 50-day moving average of $89.48 and a 200-day moving average of $81.97.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.11 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.84 by $0.27. The business had revenue of $3.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.99 billion. Sempra Energy had a return on equity of 8.42% and a net margin of 20.28%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 13.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.89 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Sempra Energy will post 4.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 11th will be issued 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 79.14%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on SRE. Evercore ISI set a $105.00 price target on Sempra Energy and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 6th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Sempra Energy from $95.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group set a $89.00 target price on Sempra Energy and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on Sempra Energy in a report on Monday, October 27th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $115.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Sempra Energy in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $95.42.

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.