Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC Raises Position in Sempra Energy $SRE

Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) by 141.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,707 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,214 shares during the quarter. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Sempra Energy were worth $1,413,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Algert Global LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Sempra Energy in the 1st quarter worth about $291,000. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. boosted its stake in Sempra Energy by 2.7% during the first quarter. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. now owns 15,255 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,089,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Capital Analysts LLC grew its holdings in Sempra Energy by 20.5% in the first quarter. Capital Analysts LLC now owns 1,033 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $74,000 after purchasing an additional 176 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in shares of Sempra Energy by 4.0% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 7,520,600 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $536,671,000 after purchasing an additional 291,026 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CW Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy by 35.4% during the first quarter. CW Advisors LLC now owns 6,742 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $480,000 after purchasing an additional 1,764 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on SRE. Wall Street Zen upgraded Sempra Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 8th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $89.00 target price on Sempra Energy and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Barclays reduced their price target on Sempra Energy from $101.00 to $98.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 6th. BTIG Research raised Sempra Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Finally, Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Sempra Energy from $86.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $96.17.

Sempra Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SRE opened at $86.97 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 1.56 and a current ratio of 1.59. The firm has a market cap of $56.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.73. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $91.38 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $84.42. Sempra Energy has a fifty-two week low of $61.90 and a fifty-two week high of $95.72.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) last posted 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. The business had revenue of $3.15 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.99 billion. Sempra Energy had a net margin of 15.63% and a return on equity of 8.67%. The firm’s revenue was up 13.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.89 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Sempra Energy will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Sempra Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 11th will be given a $0.645 dividend. This represents a $2.58 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 11th. Sempra Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 79.14%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sempra Energy

In other news, Director Kevin C. Sagara sold 14,433 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.50, for a total transaction of $1,291,753.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 1,042 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $93,259. This represents a 93.27% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Caroline Ann Winn sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.70, for a total transaction of $45,850.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 33,664 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,086,988.80. This trade represents a 1.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 33,829 shares of company stock worth $3,077,360. 0.27% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Sempra Energy Profile

Sempra Energy is a San Diego–based energy infrastructure company that develops, owns and operates businesses delivering electricity and natural gas. Its operations include regulated utility services that provide electric and gas distribution to residential, commercial and industrial customers, as well as non‑regulated infrastructure businesses that develop and manage large-scale energy assets.

The company’s product and service portfolio spans electricity and natural gas delivery, transmission and storage, liquefied natural gas (LNG) facilities, power generation and electric transmission projects.