Invesco Ltd. Cuts Stock Holdings in Sempra Energy $SRE

Invesco Ltd. reduced its position in Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 7,434,706 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 55,197 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. owned about 1.14% of Sempra Energy worth $563,328,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Westside Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Sempra Energy by 51.2% in the second quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 375 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares during the period. Pingora Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Sempra Energy by 48.3% during the 1st quarter. Pingora Partners LLC now owns 430 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares during the period. NewSquare Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Sempra Energy by 245.1% in the 2nd quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 421 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 299 shares in the last quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. raised its holdings in Sempra Energy by 230.8% in the 2nd quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 430 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. Finally, Bogart Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Sempra Energy by 74.1% in the 2nd quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 444 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 189 shares during the period. 89.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sempra Energy Price Performance

Sempra Energy stock opened at $90.02 on Friday. Sempra Energy has a 52-week low of $61.90 and a 52-week high of $95.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $58.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.61, a PEG ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $91.96 and a 200-day simple moving average of $83.58. The company has a quick ratio of 1.56, a current ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) last posted its quarterly 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. The firm had revenue of $3.15 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.99 billion. Sempra Energy had a net margin of 15.63% and a return on equity of 8.67%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.89 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate 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 will be paid on Thursday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 11th will be given a $0.645 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 11th. This represents a $2.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. Sempra Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 79.14%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Sempra Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 8th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Sempra Energy from $82.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, November 6th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Sempra Energy in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Sempra Energy from $86.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 24th. Finally, Evercore ISI set a $105.00 target price on shares of Sempra Energy and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $96.92.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Sempra Energy news, EVP Caroline Ann Winn sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.70, for a total transaction of $45,850.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 33,664 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,086,988.80. The trade was a 1.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Dyan Z. Wold sold 1,510 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.38, for a total value of $137,983.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 3,481 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $318,093.78. The trade was a 30.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 62,693 shares of company stock valued at $5,507,997. Insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

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.