Cullen Capital Management LLC Decreases Position in Sempra Energy $SRE

Cullen Capital Management LLC trimmed its stake in Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) by 40.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 29,141 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 19,717 shares during the period. Cullen Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Sempra Energy were worth $2,622,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. West Wealth Group LLC lifted its position in Sempra Energy by 1.1% in the third quarter. West Wealth Group LLC now owns 10,207 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $942,000 after buying an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO raised its stake in shares of Sempra Energy by 1.7% in the third quarter. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO now owns 6,911 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $622,000 after acquiring an additional 113 shares during the period. Manchester Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy by 24.4% in the 2nd quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 642 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 126 shares during the last quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy by 51.2% in the 2nd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 375 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mendel Money Management boosted its stake in shares of Sempra Energy by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. Mendel Money Management now owns 8,476 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $642,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sempra Energy

In other news, EVP Caroline Ann Winn sold 500 shares of the 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 33,664 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,086,988.80. This trade represents a 1.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Karen L. Sedgwick sold 7,564 shares of Sempra Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.29, for a total transaction of $698,081.56. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 41,280 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,809,731.20. The trade was a 15.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 19,396 shares of company stock worth $1,785,606 over the last quarter. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on SRE. Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $99.00 price objective (up from $80.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a research report on Monday, November 24th. UBS Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $100.00 price target on shares of Sempra Energy in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded Sempra Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report 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 research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $112.00 target price (down from $115.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $95.83.

Sempra Energy Stock Performance

Shares of Sempra Energy stock opened at $86.68 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $88.74 and its 200-day moving average price is $87.44. The firm has a market cap of $56.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 0.74. Sempra Energy has a 12 month low of $61.90 and a 12 month high of $95.72.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.11 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.84 by $0.27. The company had revenue of $3.15 billion during 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%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.89 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Sempra Energy will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Sempra Energy

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.