Compass Wealth Management LLC Acquires Shares of 5,962 Sempra Energy $SRE

Compass Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm bought 5,962 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $536,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of SRE. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in Sempra Energy by 52.5% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 18,008 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,285,000 after purchasing an additional 6,196 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP raised its position in shares of Sempra Energy by 40.7% in the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 53,512 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,819,000 after purchasing an additional 15,474 shares in the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Sempra Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $215,000. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. grew its position in shares of Sempra Energy by 230.8% during the second quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 430 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Patton Fund Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Sempra Energy in the second quarter worth $223,000. 89.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Sempra Energy in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Wall Street Zen raised Sempra Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, November 8th. Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $99.00 target price (up previously from $80.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a research report on Monday, November 24th. Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $97.00 price target (down from $98.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company restated an “overweight” rating and set a $112.00 price objective (down from $115.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $95.83.

Insider Activity at Sempra Energy

In related news, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 4,322 shares of Sempra Energy 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. The trade was a 27.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Karen L. Sedgwick sold 7,564 shares of Sempra Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.29, for a total transaction of $698,081.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 41,280 shares in the company, valued at $3,809,731.20. This represents a 15.49% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 19,396 shares of company stock valued at $1,785,606 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Sempra Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SRE opened at $86.75 on Tuesday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $56.62 billion, a PE ratio of 26.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.74. Sempra Energy has a 1-year low of $61.90 and a 1-year high of $95.72. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $89.49 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $86.97.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) last announced 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. The company had revenue of $3.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.99 billion. Sempra Energy had a net margin of 15.63% and a return on equity of 8.67%. Sempra Energy’s revenue was up 13.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.89 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Sempra Energy will post 4.76 EPS for the current year.

Sempra Energy Announces Dividend

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