Groupama Asset Managment Reduces Position in Sempra Energy $SRE

Groupama Asset Managment lowered its holdings in Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) by 2.9% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 498,889 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 14,827 shares during the period. Groupama Asset Managment’s holdings in Sempra Energy were worth $44,890,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp purchased a new position in shares of Sempra Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $400,000. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Sempra Energy by 11.0% in the third quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 7,421 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $668,000 after buying an additional 738 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. acquired a new stake in Sempra Energy in the third quarter valued at $8,099,000. Maven Securities LTD raised its holdings in Sempra Energy by 151.8% in the third quarter. Maven Securities LTD now owns 14,121 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,271,000 after acquiring an additional 8,513 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Asset Dedication LLC boosted its stake in Sempra Energy by 35.0% during the 3rd quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 818 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $74,000 after acquiring an additional 212 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Cynthia J. Warner bought 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $92.95 per share, with a total value of $232,375.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 11,275 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,048,011.25. This 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 the SEC website. Also, Director Jennifer M. Kirk bought 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 12th. The stock was bought at an average price of $93.44 per share, for a total transaction of $93,440.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 1,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $93,440. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders purchased 6,192 shares of company stock worth $576,979 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Sempra Energy Trading Down 0.9%

NYSE SRE opened at $95.06 on Thursday. 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 one year low of $61.90 and a one year high of $97.44. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $91.25 and a 200-day simple moving average of $89.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $62.10 billion, a PE ratio of 34.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 0.73.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $1.28 earnings per share (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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.82 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.50 earnings per share. Sempra Energy’s revenue was down .2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Sempra Energy will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Sempra Energy Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on SRE shares. Barclays set a $95.00 target price on shares of Sempra Energy and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Sempra Energy from $98.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Sempra Energy from $112.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $100.00 price objective (up from $96.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Sempra Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, March 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $100.55.

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.