Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. Decreases Holdings in Sempra Energy $SRE

Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. trimmed its position in Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) by 18.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 27,542 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 6,363 shares during the period. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Sempra Energy were worth $2,432,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in SRE. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Sempra Energy in the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Activest Wealth Management increased its position in Sempra Energy by 74.6% during the 3rd quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 391 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. Board of the Pension Protection Fund purchased a new stake in Sempra Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. raised 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 last quarter. Finally, JPL Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Sempra Energy in the third quarter worth about $41,000. 89.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Sempra Energy

In other news, CAO Dyan Z. Wold sold 1,539 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.38, for a total transaction of $146,789.82. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 4,633 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $441,895.54. This represents a 24.94% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, 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 price 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 approximately $1,048,011.25. This trade represents a 28.49% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have bought a total of 6,192 shares of company stock valued at $576,979 in the last ninety days. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Sempra Energy Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of Sempra Energy stock opened at $97.18 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 1.59 and a quick ratio of 1.57. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $92.11 and a 200 day moving average price of $90.79. Sempra Energy has a 1 year low of $61.90 and a 1 year high of $97.61. The stock has a market cap of $63.49 billion, a PE ratio of 35.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.66 and a beta of 0.73.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 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 revenue was down .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.50 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Sempra Energy will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Sempra Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 19th will be given a dividend of $0.6575 per share. 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 yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 19th. Sempra Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 95.29%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on SRE shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Sempra Energy from $98.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 18th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Sempra Energy in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Sempra Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Sunday. Barclays set a $95.00 target price on shares of Sempra Energy and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $101.00 price target on shares of Sempra Energy in a research note on Friday, February 20th. One 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 has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $100.73.

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.