Dakota Wealth Management Buys 14,421 Shares of Sempra Energy $SRE

Dakota Wealth Management boosted its stake in shares of Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) by 15.0% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 110,614 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 14,421 shares during the quarter. Dakota Wealth Management’s holdings in Sempra Energy were worth $9,771,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in SRE. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Sempra Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Activest Wealth Management lifted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Board of the Pension Protection Fund acquired a new stake in Sempra Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. grew its position in shares of Sempra Energy by 117.4% in the 3rd quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. now owns 424 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 229 shares during the period. Finally, JPL Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sempra Energy during the 3rd quarter worth about $41,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on SRE. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Sempra Energy in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Sempra Energy from $98.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 18th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Sempra Energy from $113.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Barclays set a $95.00 price objective on shares of Sempra Energy and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. One equities 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $100.73.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Cynthia J. Warner bought 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $92.95 per share, for a total transaction of $232,375.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 11,275 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,048,011.25. This represents a 28.49% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Jennifer M. Kirk purchased 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 12th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $93.44 per share, with a total value of $93,440.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 1,000 shares in the company, valued at $93,440. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have acquired 6,192 shares of company stock valued at $576,979 over the last 90 days. 0.27% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Sempra Energy Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of SRE opened at $95.53 on Friday. 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 firm’s 50 day moving average is $91.79 and its 200-day moving average is $90.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $62.41 billion, a PE ratio of 34.61, a P/E/G ratio of 3.61 and a beta of 0.73.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $1.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.16. Sempra Energy had a return on equity of 8.22% and a net margin of 13.27%.The business had revenue of $3.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.82 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.50 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Sempra Energy will post 4.76 EPS for the current year.

Sempra Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 19th will be given a $0.6575 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 19th. This is an increase 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 (DPR) is 95.29%.

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.