GHP Investment Advisors Inc. Acquires 784 Shares of Sempra Energy $SRE

GHP Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) by 87.7% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,678 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 784 shares during the quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Sempra Energy were worth $127,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Mendel Money Management grew its position in shares of Sempra Energy by 1.6% in the second quarter. Mendel Money Management now owns 8,476 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $642,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Tritonpoint Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Sempra Energy by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter. Tritonpoint Wealth LLC now owns 5,999 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $458,000 after purchasing an additional 132 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. grew its holdings in Sempra Energy by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 8,169 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $583,000 after buying an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Sempra Energy by 0.6% during the second quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 25,370 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,922,000 after buying an additional 139 shares during the period. Finally, Pingora Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy by 48.3% in 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 in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Sempra Energy Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of Sempra Energy stock opened at $92.58 on Tuesday. Sempra Energy has a 1 year low of $61.90 and a 1 year high of $95.77. The firm has a market cap of $60.41 billion, a PE ratio of 22.36, a PEG 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. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $87.57 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $80.85.

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

Sempra Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 2.8%. Sempra Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 62.32%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SRE has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. BTIG Research raised shares of Sempra Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $99.00 price target on shares of Sempra Energy in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target 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. Barclays set a $101.00 price objective on Sempra Energy and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on Sempra Energy in a research note on Monday, October 27th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $115.00 target price on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Sempra Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $94.00.

Insider Activity at Sempra Energy

In other Sempra Energy news, EVP Caroline Ann Winn sold 5,114 shares of Sempra Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.01, for a total transaction of $419,399.14. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 39,380 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,229,553.80. This trade represents a 11.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Kevin C. Sagara sold 28,864 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the director directly owned 15,475 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,303,149.75. This represents a 65.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 48,411 shares of company stock worth $4,141,790 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

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.