Empower Advisory Group LLC Buys 9,619 Shares of Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE)

Key Points

• Empower Advisory Group LLC increased its stake in Sempra Energy by 0.9%, owning 1,080,710 shares valued at approximately $77.12 million.
• Sempra Energy's stock price rose by 2.6%, with shares opening at $83.08; the company's market cap stands at $54.16 billion.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.645 per share, reflecting an annualized dividend yield of 3.1%.

Empower Advisory Group LLC raised its holdings in Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 0.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,080,710 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 9,619 shares during the period. Empower Advisory Group LLC owned about 0.17% of Sempra Energy worth $77,119,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. FMR LLC grew its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy by 8.0% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 20,489,918 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,797,376,000 after purchasing an additional 1,511,313 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in shares of Sempra Energy by 8.1% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,181,693 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $629,978,000 after purchasing an additional 538,919 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy by 70.6% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,666,240 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $584,763,000 after purchasing an additional 2,758,037 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in Sempra Energy by 0.5% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,168,360 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $368,814,000 after acquiring an additional 25,254 shares during the period. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its position in shares of Sempra Energy by 71.3% during the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 4,651,923 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $408,069,000 after acquiring an additional 1,936,865 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.65% of the company's stock.

Sempra Energy Trading Up 2.0%

Sempra Energy stock traded up $1.59 during trading on Thursday, hitting $82.74. The company had a trading volume of 5,961,700 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,321,867. 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 has a 1-year low of $61.90 and a 1-year high of $95.77. The stock has a market cap of $53.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 0.62. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $77.02 and its 200-day simple moving average is $75.81.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.35 billion. Sempra Energy had a net margin of 22.15% and a return on equity of 8.55%. Sempra Energy's quarterly revenue was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.89 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Sempra Energy will post 4.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 26th were given a dividend of $0.645 per share. This represents a $2.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 26th. Sempra Energy's payout ratio is 56.70%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Diana L. Day sold 8,015 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.26, for a total value of $595,193.90. Following the transaction, the insider 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 1,576 shares of the company'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 transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 15,600 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,248,000. The trade was a 9.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Citigroup reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $80.00 price target (up previously from $70.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a research note on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group cut 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. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $88.00 price objective (up from $87.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Sempra Energy from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of 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. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $81.58.

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.