IFP Advisors Inc Boosts Stock Holdings in Sempra Energy $SRE

IFP Advisors Inc raised its position in shares of Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) by 682.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 19,205 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 16,750 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc’s holdings in Sempra Energy were worth $1,769,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. West Wealth Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Sempra Energy by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. West Wealth Group LLC now owns 10,207 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $942,000 after buying an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO increased its holdings in Sempra Energy by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO now owns 6,911 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $622,000 after acquiring an additional 113 shares during the last quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Sempra Energy by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,587 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $773,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. Advisor OS LLC raised its stake in Sempra Energy by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Advisor OS LLC now owns 9,681 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $871,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares during the period. Finally, Manchester Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Sempra Energy by 24.4% in the 2nd quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 642 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 126 shares during the period. 89.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sempra Energy Trading Down 3.7%

Shares of Sempra Energy stock opened at $91.75 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $91.45 and its 200-day moving average price is $90.06. The company has a current ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. Sempra Energy has a 12-month low of $61.90 and a 12-month high of $97.44. The company has a market cap of $59.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.24, a PEG ratio of 3.43 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, beating the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $3.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.82 billion. Sempra Energy had a net margin of 13.27% and a return on equity of 8.22%. Sempra Energy’s revenue for the quarter was down .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.50 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Sempra Energy will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 19th will be issued a $0.6575 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 19th. This is an increase from Sempra Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. This represents a $2.63 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. Sempra Energy’s payout ratio is currently 95.29%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Sempra Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $101.00 price target on shares of Sempra Energy in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Sempra Energy in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Argus upgraded shares of Sempra Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $100.00 target price (up from $96.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a report on Friday, March 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Sempra Energy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $100.55.

Insider Transactions at Sempra Energy

In other Sempra Energy news, Director Jennifer M. Kirk acquired 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 12th. The shares were bought at an average price of $93.44 per share, for a total transaction of $93,440.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 1,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $93,440. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Karen L. Sedgwick sold 4,872 shares of Sempra Energy stock in a transaction on Monday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.58, for a total value of $451,049.76. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 39,029 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,613,304.82. This represents a 11.10% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders have purchased 6,192 shares of company stock valued at $576,979. Corporate insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

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.