IFP Advisors Inc Increases Stock Position in Sempra Energy $SRE

IFP Advisors Inc grew its stake in Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) by 682.3% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 19,205 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 16,750 shares during the quarter. IFP Advisors Inc’s holdings in Sempra Energy were worth $1,769,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Sempra Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Activest Wealth Management grew its position in Sempra Energy by 74.6% in the third quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 391 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. grew its position in Sempra Energy by 117.4% in the third quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. now owns 424 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 229 shares in the last quarter. JPL Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Sempra Energy in the third quarter valued at $41,000. Finally, Motco raised its position in Sempra Energy by 1,945.8% during the third quarter. Motco now owns 491 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 467 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SRE has been the subject of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Sempra Energy from $98.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Wall Street Zen upgraded Sempra Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Sempra Energy in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Argus raised Sempra Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $99.00 price target (up from $80.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a research report on Monday, November 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Sempra Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $100.55.

Sempra Energy Stock Down 3.7%

SRE opened at $91.75 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $59.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.24, a P/E/G ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 0.73. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $91.45 and its 200-day moving average price is $90.06. 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.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $1.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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%.Sempra Energy’s revenue for the quarter was down .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.50 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Sempra Energy will post 4.76 EPS for the current year.

Sempra Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 19th will be given a $0.6575 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 19th. This is an increase from Sempra Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. This represents a $2.63 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. Sempra Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 95.29%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Richard J. Mark purchased 2,692 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $93.30 per share, for a total transaction of $251,163.60. Following the acquisition, the director directly 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 purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Karen L. Sedgwick sold 4,872 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.58, for a total transaction of $451,049.76. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 39,029 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,613,304.82. The trade was a 11.10% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have bought 6,192 shares of company stock valued at $576,979. Corporate 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.