Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Sells 176,029 Shares of Sempra Energy $SRE

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. decreased its holdings in Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) by 89.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 20,530 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 176,029 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in Sempra Energy were worth $1,847,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Sempra Energy in the second quarter valued at about $701,649,000. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its holdings in Sempra Energy by 786.1% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 2,957,399 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $224,082,000 after purchasing an additional 2,623,637 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp grew its stake in shares of Sempra Energy by 809.5% in the 2nd quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 2,750,891 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $208,435,000 after purchasing an additional 2,448,415 shares during the period. PointState Capital LP bought a new stake in shares of Sempra Energy in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $154,369,000. Finally, Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sempra Energy in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $160,357,000. 89.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Sempra Energy Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of SRE opened at $88.68 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $91.27 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $84.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $57.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.20, a PEG ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.73. Sempra Energy has a 52 week low of $61.90 and a 52 week high of $95.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 1.56 and a current ratio of 1.59.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.11 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.84 by $0.27. Sempra Energy had a return on equity of 8.67% and a net margin of 15.63%.The company had revenue of $3.15 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.99 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.89 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 13.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Sempra Energy will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Sempra Energy Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SRE has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $99.00 price target (up previously from $80.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a research note on Monday, November 24th. Evercore ISI set a $105.00 price objective on Sempra Energy and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 6th. Morgan Stanley set a $91.00 target price on shares of Sempra Energy in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. UBS Group set a $96.00 target price on shares of Sempra Energy and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $89.00 price target on shares of Sempra Energy and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $96.17.

Insider Activity at Sempra Energy

In related news, Director Kevin C. Sagara sold 14,433 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.50, for a total value of $1,291,753.50. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 1,042 shares in the company, valued at $93,259. This represents a 93.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Karen L. Sedgwick sold 7,564 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.29, for a total transaction of $698,081.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 41,280 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,809,731.20. The trade was a 15.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders sold 33,829 shares of company stock worth $3,077,360. Insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

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.