Cetera Investment Advisers Acquires 45,076 Shares of Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE)

Cetera Investment Advisers raised its stake in Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 34.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 175,509 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 45,076 shares during the quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers' holdings in Sempra Energy were worth $12,524,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of SRE. Blair William & Co. IL grew its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 35,462 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,111,000 after acquiring an additional 903 shares in the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group grew its holdings in Sempra Energy by 36.7% during the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 546,651 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $47,750,000 after purchasing an additional 146,751 shares during the period. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC grew its holdings in Sempra Energy by 26.0% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 6,955 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $576,000 after purchasing an additional 1,435 shares during the period. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Sempra Energy by 36.7% during the fourth quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 91,691 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $8,043,000 after purchasing an additional 24,629 shares during the period. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Sempra Energy during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. 89.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sempra Energy Price Performance

SRE traded down $0.71 during trading on Friday, reaching $80.97. The stock had a trading volume of 2,661,712 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,611,700. The stock has a market cap of $52.79 billion, a PE ratio of 17.80, a PEG ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a current ratio of 0.57. Sempra Energy has a one year low of $61.90 and a one year high of $95.77. The business has a 50-day moving average of $76.60 and a 200-day moving average of $75.85.

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

Sempra Energy Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on SRE shares. Barclays dropped their target price on Sempra Energy from $72.00 to $71.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and set a $88.00 target price (up previously from $87.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Citigroup dropped their target price on Sempra Energy from $93.00 to $70.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on Sempra Energy from $77.00 to $75.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Sempra Energy from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus 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 dated Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 1,576 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 15,600 shares in the company, valued at $1,248,000. This trade represents a 9.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.