Richard Bernstein Advisors LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Sempra Energy $SRE

Richard Bernstein Advisors LLC decreased its position in shares of Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) by 51.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,319 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 17,162 shares during the period. Richard Bernstein Advisors LLC’s holdings in Sempra Energy were worth $1,468,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in SRE. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in Sempra Energy by 52.5% during the 1st 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 boosted its position in Sempra Energy by 40.7% during the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 53,512 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,819,000 after acquiring an additional 15,474 shares in the last quarter. Ignite Planners LLC grew its stake in Sempra Energy by 3.1% in the second quarter. Ignite Planners LLC now owns 12,396 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $970,000 after purchasing an additional 371 shares during the period. Savant Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Sempra Energy by 4.1% in the 2nd quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 8,743 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $662,000 after acquiring an additional 344 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its stake in shares of Sempra Energy by 34.8% during the second quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,537 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $116,000 after purchasing an additional 397 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on SRE shares. Argus upgraded Sempra Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Wall Street Zen cut Sempra Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Sempra Energy in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating and set a $99.00 price target (up from $80.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a research note on Monday, November 24th. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $100.00 price target (up from $96.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a research report on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $100.00.

Sempra Energy Price Performance

NYSE:SRE opened at $92.97 on Wednesday. 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 market capitalization of $60.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.69, a P/E/G ratio of 3.50 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 business’s 50-day moving average is $90.45 and its 200 day moving average is $89.43.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $1.28 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.16. Sempra Energy had a net margin of 13.27% and a return on equity of 8.22%. The firm had revenue of $3.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.82 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.50 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Sempra Energy will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 19th will be issued a $0.6575 dividend. This represents a $2.63 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. 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. Sempra Energy’s payout ratio is currently 95.29%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Karen L. Sedgwick sold 4,872 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.58, for a total value of $451,049.76. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 39,029 shares in the company, valued at $3,613,304.82. This trade represents a 11.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.