Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. Reduces Position in Sempra Energy $SRE

Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. trimmed its holdings in Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) by 18.8% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 27,542 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 6,363 shares during the quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Sempra Energy were worth $2,432,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of SRE. West Wealth Group LLC boosted its position in Sempra Energy by 1.1% during the third quarter. West Wealth Group LLC now owns 10,207 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $942,000 after acquiring an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO lifted its stake in Sempra Energy by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO now owns 6,911 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $622,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares in the last quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Sempra Energy by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,587 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $773,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton boosted its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 5,191 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $458,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Advisor OS LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Advisor OS LLC now owns 9,681 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $871,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. 89.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Sempra Energy

In related news, Director Cynthia J. Warner purchased 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $92.95 per share, for a total transaction of $232,375.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 11,275 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,048,011.25. The trade was a 28.49% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Dyan Z. Wold sold 1,539 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.38, for a total transaction of $146,789.82. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 4,633 shares in the company, valued at $441,895.54. This trade represents a 24.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders bought 6,192 shares of company stock worth $576,979 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Sempra Energy Stock Up 0.6%

SRE stock opened at $97.18 on Wednesday. Sempra Energy has a one year low of $61.90 and a one year high of $97.61. The firm has a market cap of $63.49 billion, a PE ratio of 35.21, a PEG ratio of 3.66 and a beta of 0.73. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $92.11 and its 200-day moving average price is $90.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 1.59.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $3.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 in the prior year, the business posted $1.50 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Sempra Energy will post 4.76 EPS for the current year.

Sempra Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 19th will be given a dividend of $0.6575 per share. This represents a $2.63 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 19th. This is a positive change from Sempra Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. Sempra Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 95.29%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on SRE shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Sempra Energy from $113.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, March 23rd. Argus upgraded Sempra Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Sempra Energy in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. UBS Group reiterated 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $101.00 price target on shares of Sempra Energy in a research report on Friday, February 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Sempra Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $100.73.

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.