Avantax Advisory Services Inc. Raises Holdings in Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE)

Key Points

• Avantax Advisory Services Inc. increased its holdings in Sempra Energy by 11.1%, owning a total of 74,046 shares valued at approximately $5.28 million after purchasing an additional 7,415 shares.
• Analysts have varied price targets for Sempra Energy, with BMO Capital Markets raising their target from $78.00 to $81.00 while Citigroup reduced it from $93.00 to $70.00, indicating a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy."
• Sempra Energy recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.645 per share, translating to an annualized dividend yield of 3.19% and a payout ratio of 56.70%.

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. grew its position in Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 11.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 74,046 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 7,415 shares during the quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.'s holdings in Sempra Energy were worth $5,284,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in SRE. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its position in Sempra Energy by 8.4% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 173,408 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $12,374,000 after purchasing an additional 13,433 shares during the period. L & S Advisors Inc raised its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy by 52.6% in the fourth quarter. L & S Advisors Inc now owns 41,601 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,649,000 after buying an additional 14,338 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy by 171.2% in the first quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 11,107 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $793,000 after buying an additional 7,012 shares during the period. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Sempra Energy in the first quarter worth $1,099,000. Finally, Lee Danner & Bass Inc. increased its stake in Sempra Energy by 81.0% in the first quarter. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. now owns 46,277 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,302,000 after purchasing an additional 20,707 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.65% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 1,576 shares of Sempra Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total value of $126,080.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 15,600 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,248,000. The trade was a 9.18% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Diana L. Day sold 8,015 shares of Sempra Energy stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.26, for a total transaction of $595,193.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 16,969 shares in the company, valued at $1,260,117.94. This represents a 32.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.27% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Sempra Energy Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of NYSE:SRE traded up $0.67 on Thursday, reaching $81.85. The company had a trading volume of 685,338 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,604,302. Sempra Energy has a 52-week low of $61.90 and a 52-week high of $95.77. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $76.50 and its 200-day simple moving average is $75.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $53.36 billion, a PE ratio of 17.98, a PEG ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a current ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The utilities provider reported $1.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.32 by $0.12. Sempra Energy had a return on equity of 8.55% and a net margin of 22.15%. The company had revenue of $3.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.90 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.34 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Sempra Energy will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 26th were given a $0.645 dividend. This represents a $2.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 26th. Sempra Energy's payout ratio is currently 56.70%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on SRE shares. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on Sempra Energy from $77.00 to $75.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Sempra Energy from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Sempra Energy from $93.00 to $70.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $88.00 target price (up from $87.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on Sempra Energy from $72.00 to $71.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $80.75.

About Sempra Energy

Sempra operates as an energy infrastructure company in the United States and internationally. It operates through three segments: Sempra California, Sempra Texas Utilities, and Sempra Infrastructure. The Sempra California segment provides electric services; and natural gas services to San Diego County.