Castellan Group Invests $2.66 Million in Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE)

Key Points

• Castellan Group has invested approximately $2.66 million in Sempra Energy by acquiring 37,265 shares during the first quarter, according to their recent SEC filing.
• Analysts have mixed opinions on Sempra Energy, with target prices ranging from $70.00 to $88.00 and a general consensus rating of "Moderate Buy."
• Sempra Energy recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.645, providing an annualized yield of 3.2% while maintaining a dividend payout ratio of 56.70%.

Castellan Group bought a new position in shares of Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 37,265 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,659,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy by 1,822.3% during the 1st quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 99,650 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $7,111,000 after purchasing an additional 94,466 shares during the last quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management lifted its position in shares of Sempra Energy by 206.0% in the first quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 7,655 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $546,000 after buying an additional 5,153 shares in the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. boosted its stake in Sempra Energy by 6.0% during the first quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 5,569 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $397,000 after buying an additional 317 shares during the last quarter. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft grew its holdings in Sempra Energy by 5.0% during the 1st quarter. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft now owns 2,988 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $211,000 after buying an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Woodley Farra Manion Portfolio Management Inc. increased its stake in Sempra Energy by 4.2% in the 1st quarter. Woodley Farra Manion Portfolio Management Inc. now owns 394,949 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $28,431,000 after acquiring an additional 15,970 shares during the last quarter. 89.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Insider Transactions at Sempra Energy

In other news, insider Diana L. Day sold 8,015 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.26, for a total transaction of $595,193.90. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 16,969 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,260,117.94. This trade represents a 32.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 1,576 shares of the business's 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 completion of the sale, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

Sempra Energy Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of NYSE:SRE opened at $81.64 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $53.22 billion, a PE ratio of 17.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 0.63. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $76.60 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $75.85. Sempra Energy has a 1 year low of $61.90 and a 1 year high of $95.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.57 and a quick ratio of 0.51.

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

Sempra Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 26th were issued a $0.645 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 26th. This represents a $2.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. Sempra Energy's dividend payout ratio is presently 56.70%.

Sempra Energy Profile

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.

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