Sempra Energy $SRE Shares Purchased by Aventail Capital Group LP

Aventail Capital Group LP raised its stake in Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) by 50.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 394,498 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 132,302 shares during the period. Sempra Energy accounts for about 1.6% of Aventail Capital Group LP’s holdings, making the stock its 18th biggest position. Aventail Capital Group LP owned 0.06% of Sempra Energy worth $35,497,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. lifted its position in shares of Sempra Energy by 37.7% during the 3rd quarter. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. now owns 19,108 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,719,000 after buying an additional 5,235 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia grew its position in shares of Sempra Energy by 62.7% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 141,903 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $12,768,000 after buying an additional 54,711 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its stake in Sempra Energy by 8.2% during the 3rd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 952,379 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $85,695,000 after acquiring an additional 72,460 shares in the last quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC raised its stake in Sempra Energy by 50.3% during the 3rd quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 27,430 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,468,000 after acquiring an additional 9,179 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Creative Planning lifted its position in Sempra Energy by 18.5% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 136,001 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $12,237,000 after acquiring an additional 21,227 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Cynthia J. Warner purchased 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $92.95 per share, with a total value of $232,375.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 11,275 shares in the company, valued at $1,048,011.25. This trade represents a 28.49% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Richard J. Mark acquired 2,692 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $93.30 per share, for a total transaction of $251,163.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 17,376 shares in the company, valued at $1,621,180.80. The trade was a 18.33% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders bought 6,192 shares of company stock valued at $576,979 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Sempra Energy Price Performance

Shares of SRE opened at $95.20 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 1.59. Sempra Energy has a fifty-two week low of $61.90 and a fifty-two week high of $97.44. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $90.74 and a 200-day simple moving average of $89.63. The company has a market capitalization of $62.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.56 and a beta of 0.73.

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

Sempra Energy Increases Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on SRE shares. Argus upgraded shares of Sempra Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Barclays set a $95.00 target price on Sempra Energy and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Sempra Energy in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Citigroup reaffirmed 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. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Sempra Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $100.00.

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.