Maven Securities LTD Acquires 8,513 Shares of Sempra Energy $SRE

Maven Securities LTD boosted its stake in shares of Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) by 151.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 14,121 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 8,513 shares during the period. Maven Securities LTD’s holdings in Sempra Energy were worth $1,271,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Sempra Energy in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Activest Wealth Management raised its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy by 74.6% during the third quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 391 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares during the period. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. raised its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy by 117.4% during the third quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. now owns 424 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 229 shares during the period. JPL Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Sempra Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at $41,000. Finally, Motco boosted its stake in Sempra Energy by 1,945.8% in the 3rd quarter. Motco now owns 491 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 467 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Sempra Energy Stock Performance

SRE opened at $95.92 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $91.07 and its 200 day simple moving average is $89.87. Sempra Energy has a 52-week low of $61.90 and a 52-week high of $97.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 1.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $62.66 billion, a PE ratio of 34.75, a PEG ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 0.73.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $1.28 earnings per share 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 business’s revenue was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.50 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Sempra Energy will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 19th will be paid a $0.6575 dividend. This is a boost from Sempra Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. This represents a $2.63 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 19th. Sempra Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 93.48%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on SRE shares. Wall Street Zen cut Sempra Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, March 7th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $101.00 price target on shares of Sempra Energy in a report on Friday, February 20th. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $100.00 price objective (up from $96.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a report on Friday, March 6th. Argus raised Sempra Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Sempra Energy in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. One equities research 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, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $100.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sempra Energy

In other Sempra Energy news, CFO Karen L. Sedgwick sold 4,872 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 39,029 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,613,304.82. This 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 hyperlink. Also, Director Cynthia J. Warner acquired 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director owned 11,275 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,048,011.25. This trade represents a 28.49% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders acquired 6,192 shares of company stock valued at $576,979 in the last 90 days. Company 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.