Corient Private Wealth LLC Lowers Holdings in Sempra Energy $SRE

Corient Private Wealth LLC reduced its stake in shares of Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) by 4.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 555,082 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 27,111 shares during the period. Corient Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in Sempra Energy were worth $42,059,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Manchester Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Sempra Energy by 24.4% in the second quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 642 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 126 shares during the last quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Sempra Energy by 51.2% in the second quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 375 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares during the period. Mendel Money Management boosted its position in Sempra Energy by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Mendel Money Management now owns 8,476 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $642,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Tritonpoint Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Sempra Energy by 2.2% during 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. Finally, Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Sempra Energy by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 25,370 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,922,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Sempra Energy Stock Down 0.9%

SRE stock opened at $87.82 on Wednesday. Sempra Energy has a 52 week low of $61.90 and a 52 week high of $95.72. The company has a quick ratio of 1.56, a current ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $91.67 and a 200-day simple moving average of $84.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $57.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.94, a P/E/G ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.73.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) last issued 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. Sempra Energy had a net margin of 15.63% and a return on equity of 8.67%. The firm had revenue of $3.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.99 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.89 EPS. Sempra Energy’s quarterly revenue was up 13.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Sempra Energy will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Energy Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on SRE. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Sempra Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 8th. Morgan Stanley set a $91.00 price objective on shares of Sempra Energy in a research report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on shares of Sempra Energy in a research note on Monday, October 27th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $115.00 target price on the stock. BTIG Research upgraded Sempra Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $99.00 price target (up previously from $80.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a report on Monday, November 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $96.33.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Dyan Z. Wold sold 1,510 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.38, for a total transaction of $137,983.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 3,481 shares in the company, valued at approximately $318,093.78. The trade was a 30.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Karen L. Sedgwick sold 7,564 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.29, for a total value of $698,081.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 41,280 shares in the company, valued at $3,809,731.20. The trade was a 15.49% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 33,829 shares of company stock valued at $3,077,360 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

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.