SG Americas Securities LLC Sells 52,636 Shares of Sempra Energy $SRE

SG Americas Securities LLC lessened its holdings in Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) by 54.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 44,414 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 52,636 shares during the quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC’s holdings in Sempra Energy were worth $3,996,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Westside Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Sempra Energy by 51.2% during the second 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 during the period. NewSquare Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Sempra Energy by 245.1% during the 2nd quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 421 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 299 shares in the last quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. lifted its holdings in Sempra Energy by 117.4% during the 3rd quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. now owns 424 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 229 shares in the last quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. boosted its position 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 valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. Finally, Bogart Wealth LLC grew its stake in Sempra Energy by 74.1% in the 2nd quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 444 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 189 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on SRE. BTIG Research raised shares of Sempra Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Wall Street Zen raised Sempra Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 8th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Sempra Energy from $95.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on Sempra Energy in a research report on Monday, October 27th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $115.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price objective on Sempra Energy from $86.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 24th. 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $96.17.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 4,322 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $1,048,128.75. This represents a 27.62% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Dyan Z. Wold sold 1,510 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.38, for a total value of $137,983.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 3,481 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $318,093.78. This represents a 30.25% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 19,396 shares of company stock valued at $1,785,606. Company insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Sempra Energy Price Performance

Shares of SRE stock opened at $88.82 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $90.28 and its 200 day moving average is $85.88. Sempra Energy has a 1-year low of $61.90 and a 1-year high of $95.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.59 and a quick ratio of 1.56. The company has a market cap of $57.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.24, a PEG ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.74.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) last released 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. Sempra Energy had a net margin of 15.63% and a return on equity of 8.67%. The business had revenue of $3.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.99 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.89 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 13.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Sempra Energy will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 11th will be issued a $0.645 dividend. This represents a $2.58 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 11th. Sempra Energy’s payout ratio is currently 79.14%.

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.