Colonial Trust Advisors Cuts Position in Sempra Energy $SRE

Colonial Trust Advisors lessened its holdings in Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) by 2.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 21,717 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 455 shares during the period. Colonial Trust Advisors’ holdings in Sempra Energy were worth $1,550,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of SRE. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its position in Sempra Energy by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 21,695 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,903,000 after purchasing an additional 1,089 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy by 6.1% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 851,826 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $74,722,000 after buying an additional 48,926 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,923,127 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $168,692,000 after buying an additional 93,131 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 997,194 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $87,474,000 after buying an additional 26,656 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S boosted its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy by 170.6% in the 4th quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 21,220 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,861,000 after buying an additional 13,379 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Sempra Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SRE opened at $81.01 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $52.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.62. 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 1-year low of $61.90 and a 1-year high of $95.77. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $77.68 and its 200 day moving average is $75.64.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on SRE. Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $80.00 target price (up from $70.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $88.00 price objective (up previously from $87.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Sempra Energy from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on Sempra Energy from $72.00 to $71.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $81.58.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Caroline Ann Winn sold 5,114 shares of Sempra Energy stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.01, for a total value of $419,399.14. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 39,380 shares in the company, valued at $3,229,553.80. This trade represents a 11.49% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 1,576 shares of Sempra Energy stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 23rd. The stock was 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 approximately $1,248,000. The trade was a 9.18% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 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.