Sempra Energy $SRE Shares Sold by Ethic Inc.

Key Points

• Ethic Inc. reduced its holdings in Sempra Energy by 25%, selling 39,884 shares in the first quarter, resulting in ownership of 119,904 shares valued at approximately $8.58 million.
• Sempra Energy reported quarterly earnings of $0.89 EPS, exceeding estimates, but experienced a 0.4% decline in revenue compared to the previous year.
• Analysts maintain a moderate outlook on Sempra Energy, with an average price target of $81.58, reflecting a mix of buy and hold ratings from market evaluations.

Ethic Inc. reduced its stake in Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 25.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 119,904 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 39,884 shares during the period. Ethic Inc.'s holdings in Sempra Energy were worth $8,580,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Sempra Energy by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 8,194 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $719,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. MJP Associates Inc. ADV boosted its holdings in Sempra Energy by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. MJP Associates Inc. ADV now owns 6,195 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $543,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. boosted its holdings in Sempra Energy by 1.7% in the first quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 8,169 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $583,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted its holdings in Sempra Energy by 5.0% in the first quarter. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft now owns 2,988 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $211,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Applied Finance Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Sempra Energy by 1.3% in the first quarter. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC now owns 11,334 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $809,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. 89.65% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sempra Energy

In related news, EVP Caroline Ann Winn sold 5,114 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.01, for a total transaction of $419,399.14. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 39,380 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,229,553.80. This trade represents a 11.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 1,576 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total value of $126,080.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 15,600 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,248,000. This 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 owned by company insiders.

Sempra Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SRE traded down $0.2240 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $82.1760. 740,500 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,514,663. The company has a quick ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $77.95 and a 200-day simple moving average of $75.74. Sempra Energy has a 1-year low of $61.90 and a 1-year high of $95.77. The firm has a market cap of $53.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 0.62.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.07. Sempra Energy had a return on equity of 8.42% and a net margin of 20.28%.The firm had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.35 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.89 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Sempra Energy will post 4.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SRE has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays lowered their price target on Sempra Energy from $72.00 to $71.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Morgan Stanley reissued 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 increased their price objective on Sempra Energy from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $80.00 price objective (up from $70.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a report on Monday, August 4th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Sempra Energy has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $81.58.

Sempra Energy Company 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.