Barrett & Company Inc. Makes New Investment in Sempra Energy $SRE

Barrett & Company Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 668 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $51,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Jacobi Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Sempra Energy by 10.3% during the first quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC now owns 5,641 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $403,000 after purchasing an additional 526 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy by 7.0% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 3,495,527 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $249,435,000 after buying an additional 229,045 shares during the period. Panagora Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy by 46.0% in the first quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 37,501 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,676,000 after buying an additional 11,811 shares during the period. Energy Income Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy by 2.5% in the first quarter. Energy Income Partners LLC now owns 2,182,448 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $155,739,000 after buying an additional 52,838 shares during the period. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy by 8.4% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 173,408 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $12,374,000 after buying an additional 13,433 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Sempra Energy Stock Up 2.5%

SRE stock opened at $91.48 on Friday. Sempra Energy has a fifty-two week low of $61.90 and a fifty-two week high of $95.77. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $83.20 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $77.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 0.48. The company has a market capitalization of $59.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.66.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.07. Sempra Energy had a return on equity of 8.42% and a net margin of 20.28%.The firm had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.35 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.89 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Sempra Energy will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.645 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 1st. This represents a $2.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. Sempra Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 62.32%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Sempra Energy news, Director Kevin C. Sagara sold 28,864 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.21, for a total transaction of $2,430,637.44. Following the transaction, the director owned 15,475 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,303,149.75. This represents a 65.10% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 1,576 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total value of $126,080.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 15,600 shares in the company, valued at $1,248,000. This trade represents a 9.18% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 49,987 shares of company stock worth $4,267,870. Company insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on SRE shares. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $93.00 price objective (up previously from $86.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a report on Wednesday, September 24th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Sempra Energy in a report on Saturday, September 27th. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Sempra Energy from $86.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 24th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Sempra Energy from $71.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 26th. Finally, Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating and set a $80.00 price target (up previously from $70.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a report on Monday, August 4th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Sempra Energy presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $84.55.

Sempra Energy Company Profile

Sempra operates as an energy infrastructure company in the United States and internationally. It operates through three segments: Sempra California, Sempra Texas Utilities, and Sempra Infrastructure. The Sempra California segment provides electric services; and natural gas services to San Diego County.