Energy Income Partners LLC Sells 1,365,241 Shares of Sempra Energy $SRE

Energy Income Partners LLC reduced its position in shares of Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) by 62.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 817,207 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,365,241 shares during the period. Energy Income Partners LLC owned approximately 0.13% of Sempra Energy worth $61,920,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in SRE. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Sempra Energy by 22.5% in the first quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 19,892 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,419,000 after acquiring an additional 3,660 shares during the period. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. raised its stake in Sempra Energy by 90.0% in the 1st quarter. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. now owns 45,286 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,232,000 after purchasing an additional 21,456 shares in the last quarter. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. boosted its holdings in Sempra Energy by 15.8% in the 1st quarter. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. now owns 9,656 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $689,000 after purchasing an additional 1,317 shares during the period. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Sempra Energy by 34.6% during the 1st quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 11,026 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $787,000 after purchasing an additional 2,832 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Horizon Investments LLC raised its position in shares of Sempra Energy by 12.4% in the first quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 47,171 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,366,000 after buying an additional 5,194 shares in the last quarter. 89.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SRE has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Sempra Energy in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on Sempra Energy in a report on Monday, October 27th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $115.00 target price on the stock. Barclays decreased their price target on Sempra Energy from $101.00 to $98.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Sempra Energy from $95.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Finally, BTIG Research upgraded shares of Sempra Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Sempra Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $96.92.

Sempra Energy Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of NYSE SRE opened at $88.45 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $57.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.13, a PEG ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.73. 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 has a 12 month low of $61.90 and a 12 month high of $95.72. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $91.87 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $84.05.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.84 by $0.27. The company 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was up 13.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.89 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Sempra Energy will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.645 per share. This represents a $2.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 11th. Sempra Energy’s payout ratio is presently 79.14%.

Insider Activity at Sempra Energy

In related news, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 4,322 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.55, for a total transaction of $400,001.10. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 11,325 shares in the company, valued at $1,048,128.75. The trade was a 27.62% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Dyan Z. Wold sold 1,510 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.38, for a total value of $137,983.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 3,481 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $318,093.78. The trade was a 30.25% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 62,693 shares of company stock valued at $5,507,997. 0.27% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Sempra Energy 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.