Jennison Associates LLC Raises Position in Sempra Energy $SRE

Jennison Associates LLC boosted its stake in shares of Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) by 30.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,196,844 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 515,599 shares during the quarter. Jennison Associates LLC’s holdings in Sempra Energy were worth $197,672,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. West Wealth Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. West Wealth Group LLC now owns 10,207 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $942,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Sempra Energy by 24.4% in the second quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 642 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 126 shares during the last quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Sempra Energy by 51.2% in the second quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 375 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Mendel Money Management raised its stake in Sempra Energy by 1.6% in the second quarter. Mendel Money Management now owns 8,476 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $642,000 after buying an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tritonpoint Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Sempra Energy by 2.2% during the 2nd quarter. Tritonpoint Wealth LLC now owns 5,999 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $458,000 after buying an additional 132 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Sempra Energy Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of SRE stock opened at $85.92 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $89.60 and its 200 day moving average price is $86.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $56.08 billion, a PE ratio of 26.36, a P/E/G ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.59 and a quick ratio of 1.56. Sempra Energy has a 1-year low of $61.90 and a 1-year high of $95.72.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.84 by $0.27. The company had revenue of $3.15 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.99 billion. Sempra Energy had a net margin of 15.63% and a return on equity of 8.67%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.89 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Sempra Energy will post 4.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 11th were given a dividend of $0.645 per share. This represents a $2.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 11th. Sempra Energy’s payout ratio is presently 79.14%.

Insider Transactions at Sempra Energy

In related news, CFO Karen L. Sedgwick sold 7,564 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.29, for a total value of $698,081.56. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 41,280 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,809,731.20. This represents a 15.49% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Dyan Z. Wold sold 1,510 shares of Sempra Energy stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.38, for a total transaction of $137,983.80. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 3,481 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $318,093.78. The trade was a 30.25% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 19,396 shares of company stock worth $1,785,606 over the last ninety days. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group set a $89.00 price objective on shares of Sempra Energy and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. UBS Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $100.00 price target on shares of Sempra Energy in a research note on Thursday. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $95.00 price target on shares of Sempra Energy in a research report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $112.00 price objective (down previously from $115.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $97.00 target price (down from $98.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a research report on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $95.83.

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.