Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Has $182.53 Million Stock Holdings in Sempra Energy $SRE

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,028,635 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 81,483 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned approximately 0.31% of Sempra Energy worth $182,530,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in SRE. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Sempra Energy in the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Activest Wealth Management increased its holdings in Sempra Energy by 74.6% in the third quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 391 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. lifted its stake in Sempra Energy by 117.4% in the third 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 during the period. Hartford Funds Management Co LLC acquired a new position in Sempra Energy in the second quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Motco boosted its holdings in Sempra Energy by 1,945.8% during the third quarter. Motco now owns 491 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 467 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on SRE shares. Barclays set a $95.00 price target on Sempra Energy and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Argus upgraded shares of Sempra Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $101.00 price target on shares of Sempra Energy in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Sempra Energy from $112.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Sempra Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $100.00.

Sempra Energy Stock Down 1.3%

Sempra Energy stock opened at $92.71 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $90.28 and a 200-day moving average of $89.27. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. Sempra Energy has a twelve month low of $61.90 and a twelve month high of $97.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $60.57 billion, a PE ratio of 33.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.47 and a beta of 0.73.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $1.28 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $3.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.82 billion. Sempra Energy had a net margin of 13.27% and a return on equity of 8.22%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.50 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Sempra Energy will post 4.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.6575 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 19th. This is a boost from Sempra Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. This represents a $2.63 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. Sempra Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 93.48%.

Sempra Energy Company 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.