Swiss National Bank Decreases Stock Position in Sempra Energy $SRE

Swiss National Bank trimmed its holdings in Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) by 4.7% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 1,880,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 93,400 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in Sempra Energy were worth $169,162,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in Sempra Energy by 52.5% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 18,008 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,285,000 after acquiring an additional 6,196 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP grew its position in shares of Sempra Energy by 40.7% in the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 53,512 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,819,000 after purchasing an additional 15,474 shares during the last quarter. Ignite Planners LLC grew its position in shares of Sempra Energy by 3.1% in the second quarter. Ignite Planners LLC now owns 12,396 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $970,000 after purchasing an additional 371 shares during the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Sempra Energy by 4.1% during the 2nd quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 8,743 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $662,000 after purchasing an additional 344 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Prospera Financial Services Inc raised its position in shares of Sempra Energy by 7.7% during the 2nd quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 40,883 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,098,000 after purchasing an additional 2,909 shares during the last quarter. 89.65% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sempra Energy Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of SRE opened at $93.49 on Tuesday. Sempra Energy has a twelve month low of $61.90 and a twelve month high of $97.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $61.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.47 and a beta of 0.73. 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 stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $90.37 and its 200 day simple moving average is $89.36.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $3.75 billion during 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.50 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Sempra Energy will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Sempra Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.6575 per share. This represents a $2.63 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 19th. This is an increase from Sempra Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. Sempra Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 93.48%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Karen L. Sedgwick sold 4,872 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 39,029 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,613,304.82. This represents a 11.10% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen lowered Sempra Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Sempra Energy in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Barclays set a $95.00 price target on Sempra Energy and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $101.00 price objective on shares of Sempra Energy in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Argus upgraded Sempra Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $100.00.

About Sempra Energy

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.