Rhumbline Advisers Acquires 24,396 Shares of Sempra Energy $SRE

Rhumbline Advisers raised its stake in shares of Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,276,057 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 24,396 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers’ holdings in Sempra Energy were worth $96,687,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. PFG Advisors boosted its holdings in Sempra Energy by 88.3% in the first quarter. PFG Advisors now owns 4,652 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $332,000 after purchasing an additional 2,181 shares during the last quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy by 11.1% during the 1st quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 74,046 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,284,000 after buying an additional 7,415 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy by 34.6% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 175,509 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $12,524,000 after buying an additional 45,076 shares during the period. Trilogy Capital Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Sempra Energy in the 1st quarter worth $204,000. Finally, Applied Finance Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy by 1.3% in the first quarter. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC now owns 11,334 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $809,000 after acquiring an additional 143 shares during the period. 89.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on SRE shares. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Sempra Energy from $95.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Sempra Energy from $101.00 to $98.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 6th. Morgan Stanley set a $98.00 target price on shares of Sempra Energy in a report on Thursday. Evercore ISI set a $105.00 price target on shares of Sempra Energy and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 6th. Finally, BTIG Research raised shares of Sempra Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Sempra Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $95.33.

Sempra Energy Price Performance

NYSE SRE opened at $92.54 on Friday. 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. The stock has a market cap of $60.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.35, a PEG ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.68. The company’s 50 day moving average is $90.46 and its two-hundred day moving average is $82.59.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $3.15 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.99 billion. Sempra Energy had a net margin of 20.28% and a return on equity of 8.42%. The company’s revenue was up 13.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.89 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Sempra Energy will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Sempra Energy Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 4,322 shares of Sempra Energy stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the senior vice president owned 11,325 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,048,128.75. This trade represents a 27.62% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Kevin C. Sagara sold 14,433 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.50, for a total value of $1,291,753.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 1,042 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $93,259. The trade was a 93.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 55,129 shares of company stock worth $4,809,916 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

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.