Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc. Invests $721,000 in Sempra Energy $SRE

Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund acquired 8,016 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $721,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Sempra Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Sempra Energy by 51.2% in the 2nd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 375 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy by 245.1% in the second quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 421 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 299 shares during the period. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. boosted its stake in Sempra Energy by 230.8% during the second quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 430 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bogart Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Sempra Energy by 74.1% during the second quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 444 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 189 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 4,322 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.55, for a total value of $400,001.10. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 11,325 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,048,128.75. This trade represents a 27.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Caroline Ann Winn sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.70, for a total value of $45,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 33,664 shares in the company, valued at $3,086,988.80. This represents a 1.46% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 19,396 shares of company stock worth $1,785,606 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Sempra Energy Price Performance

SRE stock opened at $92.53 on Friday. Sempra Energy has a one year low of $61.90 and a one year high of $95.72. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $90.10 and a two-hundred day moving average of $86.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $60.39 billion, a PE ratio of 28.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a current ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.11 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.84 by $0.27. Sempra Energy had a net margin of 15.63% and a return on equity of 8.67%. The business had revenue of $3.15 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.99 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.89 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 13.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Sempra Energy will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Sempra Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 11th were paid a dividend of $0.645 per share. This represents a $2.58 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 11th. Sempra Energy’s payout ratio is 79.14%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on SRE. Morgan Stanley set a $91.00 price target on shares of Sempra Energy in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on shares of Sempra Energy in a research note on Monday, October 27th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $115.00 price objective on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group set a $89.00 target price on shares of Sempra Energy and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. BTIG Research raised shares of Sempra Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Sempra Energy in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $96.17.

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.