GHP Investment Advisors Inc. Has $127,000 Position in Sempra Energy $SRE

GHP Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) by 87.7% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,678 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 784 shares during the period. GHP Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Sempra Energy were worth $127,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Mendel Money Management lifted its position 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 valued at $642,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the period. Tritonpoint Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Sempra Energy by 2.2% during the second quarter. Tritonpoint Wealth LLC now owns 5,999 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $458,000 after buying an additional 132 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. raised its holdings in Sempra Energy by 1.7% during the first quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 8,169 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $583,000 after buying an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Sempra Energy by 0.6% during the second quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 25,370 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,922,000 after buying an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pingora Partners LLC raised its holdings in Sempra Energy by 48.3% during the first quarter. Pingora Partners LLC now owns 430 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group set a $89.00 price objective on shares of Sempra Energy and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Barclays set a $101.00 price objective on shares of Sempra Energy and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 20th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Sempra Energy from $95.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $80.00 target price (up previously from $70.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on shares of Sempra Energy in a report on Monday, October 27th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $115.00 target price for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Sempra Energy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $94.00.

Sempra Energy Stock Performance

Shares of SRE stock opened at $92.58 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $87.57 and a 200-day moving average of $80.85. The company has a market cap of $60.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.36, a P/E/G ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.48 and a quick ratio of 0.41. Sempra Energy has a one year low of $61.90 and a one year high of $95.77.

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

Sempra Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 1st were given a dividend of $0.645 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, October 1st. This represents a $2.58 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. Sempra Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 62.32%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Caroline Ann Winn sold 5,114 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.01, for a total transaction of $419,399.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 39,380 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,229,553.80. This represents a 11.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Kevin C. Sagara sold 28,864 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 15th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,303,149.75. The trade was a 65.10% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 48,411 shares of company stock valued at $4,141,790. 0.27% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Sempra Energy

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.