Exchange Traded Concepts LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE)

Exchange Traded Concepts LLC decreased its holdings in Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 83.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,645 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 8,528 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC's holdings in Sempra Energy were worth $117,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Lindbrook Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Sempra Energy by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 2,410 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $211,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Sempra Energy by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 8,194 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $719,000 after buying an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Sempra Energy by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,585 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $227,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. MJP Associates Inc. ADV grew its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. MJP Associates Inc. ADV now owns 6,195 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $543,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the period. Finally, Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. increased its position in Sempra Energy by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 2,639 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $232,000 after acquiring an additional 126 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.65% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other Sempra Energy news, EVP Justin Christopher Bird sold 4,817 shares of Sempra Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.23, for a total value of $343,114.91. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 19,778 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,408,786.94. The trade was a 19.59% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Diana L. Day sold 8,015 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.26, for a total value of $595,193.90. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 16,969 shares in the company, valued at $1,260,117.94. This trade represents a 32.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on SRE shares. 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. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Sempra Energy from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Argus lowered shares of Sempra Energy from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Barclays cut shares of Sempra Energy from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and reduced their target price for the company from $95.00 to $72.00 in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $88.00 price target (up from $87.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $80.83.

Sempra Energy Price Performance

Shares of SRE stock traded up $0.38 on Friday, hitting $75.32. 4,934,460 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,851,748. 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 has a 52 week low of $61.90 and a 52 week high of $95.77. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $75.64 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $77.39. The firm has a market cap of $49.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.55, a PEG ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 0.64.

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 business 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 revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.34 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Sempra Energy will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 26th will be given a dividend of $0.645 per share. This represents a $2.58 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.43%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 26th. Sempra Energy's payout ratio is currently 56.70%.

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.