Cinctive Capital Management LP Purchases 9,967 Shares of Sempra Energy $SRE

Cinctive Capital Management LP boosted its position in shares of Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 292,889 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,967 shares during the quarter. Sempra Energy accounts for approximately 1.3% of Cinctive Capital Management LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest holding. Cinctive Capital Management LP’s holdings in Sempra Energy were worth $26,354,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in shares of Sempra Energy by 52.5% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 18,008 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,285,000 after purchasing an additional 6,196 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP grew its holdings in Sempra Energy by 40.7% during the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 53,512 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,819,000 after purchasing an additional 15,474 shares during the period. Savant Capital LLC increased its position in Sempra Energy by 4.1% during the second quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 8,743 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $662,000 after buying an additional 344 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP raised its stake in Sempra Energy by 2.6% in the second quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 11,694 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $886,000 after buying an additional 292 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV raised its stake in Sempra Energy by 8.4% in the second quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 60,141 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,557,000 after buying an additional 4,659 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sempra Energy

In other Sempra Energy news, Director Jennifer M. Kirk bought 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 12th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $93.44 per share, with a total value of $93,440.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 1,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $93,440. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Richard J. Mark purchased 2,692 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $93.30 per share, with a total value of $251,163.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 17,376 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,621,180.80. This represents a 18.33% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders purchased 6,192 shares of company stock worth $576,979. Insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Sempra Energy Price Performance

Sempra Energy stock opened at $95.20 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $62.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.49, a PEG ratio of 3.56 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a current ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. Sempra Energy has a 12 month low of $61.90 and a 12 month high of $97.44. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $90.74 and its 200-day moving average is $89.63.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $1.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $3.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.82 billion. Sempra Energy had a return on equity of 8.22% and a net margin of 13.27%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.50 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Sempra Energy will post 4.76 EPS for the current year.

Sempra Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 19th will be issued 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 dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 19th. Sempra Energy’s payout ratio is 93.48%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on SRE. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Sempra Energy from $112.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Sempra Energy in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $100.00 price target (up from $96.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a report on Friday, March 6th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Sempra Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 7th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $99.00 price objective (up from $80.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a report on Monday, November 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $100.00.

Sempra Energy 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.