Quadrature Capital Ltd Purchases 16,323 Shares of Sempra Energy $SRE

Quadrature Capital Ltd boosted its position in shares of Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) by 147.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 27,412 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 16,323 shares during the period. Quadrature Capital Ltd’s holdings in Sempra Energy were worth $2,077,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Westside Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of 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 boosted its stake in 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 period. NewSquare Capital LLC grew its position in Sempra Energy by 245.1% during the second quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 421 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 299 shares in the last quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. increased its stake in Sempra Energy by 230.8% in the 2nd quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 430 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bogart Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy by 74.1% in the 2nd quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 444 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 189 shares in the last quarter. 89.65% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sempra Energy Stock Performance

Sempra Energy stock opened at $94.72 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. The firm has a market cap of $61.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.88, a P/E/G ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.68. Sempra Energy has a 1-year low of $61.90 and a 1-year high of $95.72. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $91.55 and a 200-day moving average of $83.23.

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

Sempra Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 11th will be paid a $0.645 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 11th. This represents a $2.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. Sempra Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 79.14%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SRE has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Sempra Energy from $86.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 24th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Sempra Energy in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Evercore ISI set a $105.00 price objective on Sempra Energy and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 6th. Barclays lowered their target price on Sempra Energy from $101.00 to $98.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $89.00 price target on Sempra Energy and gave the stock a “hold” 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 issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $96.92.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Karen L. Sedgwick sold 7,564 shares of Sempra Energy stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.29, for a total transaction of $698,081.56. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 41,280 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,809,731.20. The trade was a 15.49% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Caroline Ann Winn sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.70, for a total transaction of $45,850.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 33,664 shares in the company, valued at $3,086,988.80. This represents a 1.46% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 62,693 shares of company stock valued at $5,507,997 over the last quarter. 0.27% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Sempra Energy 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.