USA Financial Formulas Invests $663,000 in Sempra Energy $SRE

USA Financial Formulas bought a new stake in shares of Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 7,511 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $663,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of SRE. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in Sempra Energy by 19.4% during the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 85,334 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $7,678,000 after buying an additional 13,864 shares in the last quarter. Westerkirk Capital Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Sempra Energy in the second quarter worth $3,091,000. Amundi lifted its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy by 20.8% in the second quarter. Amundi now owns 1,903,624 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $142,429,000 after buying an additional 327,154 shares in the last quarter. Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ boosted its position in shares of Sempra Energy by 5.7% during the third quarter. Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ now owns 203,402 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $18,302,000 after acquiring an additional 11,020 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd purchased a new position in Sempra Energy during the third quarter valued at $150,993,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Sempra Energy Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of NYSE:SRE opened at $95.72 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $62.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.68, a PEG ratio of 3.63 and a beta of 0.73. Sempra Energy has a 12 month low of $61.90 and a 12 month high of $97.44. The company has a current ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $91.85 and a 200 day moving average price of $90.55.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $1.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $3.75 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.82 billion. Sempra Energy had a return on equity of 8.22% and a net margin of 13.27%.The company’s quarterly revenue 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. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Sempra Energy will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Sempra Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.6575 per share. 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. This represents a $2.63 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. Sempra Energy’s payout ratio is presently 95.29%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Sempra Energy from $113.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, March 23rd. Argus raised shares of Sempra Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $100.00 price objective (up from $96.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Barclays set a $95.00 target price on Sempra Energy and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Sempra Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Sunday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $100.73.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sempra Energy

In related news, CFO Karen L. Sedgwick sold 4,872 shares of Sempra Energy stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.58, for a total transaction of $451,049.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 39,029 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,613,304.82. The trade was a 11.10% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Richard J. Mark purchased 2,692 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $93.30 per share, for a total transaction of $251,163.60. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 17,376 shares in the company, valued at $1,621,180.80. The trade was a 18.33% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have purchased 6,192 shares of company stock valued at $576,979. Insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

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.