Sempra Energy $SRE Shares Sold by Flputnam Investment Management Co.

Key Points

• Flputnam Investment Management Co. reduced its stake in Sempra Energy by 83.8%, selling 45,218 shares and retaining just 8,764 shares valued at approximately $625,000.
• Analysts have raised price targets for Sempra Energy, with a consensus target price of $82.33 and ratings ranging from "Buy" to "Hold."
• Despite a slight decline in revenue, Sempra Energy reported an earnings per share of $0.89, exceeding analysts' estimates of $0.82.

Flputnam Investment Management Co. cut its holdings in Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 83.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,764 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 45,218 shares during the period. Flputnam Investment Management Co.'s holdings in Sempra Energy were worth $625,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in SRE. Mattson Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sempra Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sempra Energy during the 1st quarter valued at $38,000. Park Square Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sempra Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $41,000. Eastern Bank raised its position in shares of Sempra Energy by 73.7% during the 1st quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 580 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 246 shares during the period. Finally, Cary Street Partners Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sempra Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $56,000. 89.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on SRE. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Sempra Energy from $71.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 26th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Sempra Energy from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Citigroup reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $80.00 price target (up from $70.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of Sempra Energy in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $82.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sempra Energy

In other Sempra Energy news, EVP Caroline Ann Winn sold 5,114 shares of the firm's 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 39,380 shares in the company, valued at $3,229,553.80. This trade represents a 11.49% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 1,576 shares of the firm's 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 transaction, the senior vice president owned 15,600 shares in the company, valued at $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. Company insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

Sempra Energy Trading Down 1.3%

NYSE SRE traded down $1.06 during trading on Friday, hitting $81.06. The stock had a trading volume of 4,311,433 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,051,330. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 0.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $52.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.58, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.65. Sempra Energy has a one year low of $61.90 and a one year high of $95.77. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $79.68 and a 200 day simple moving average of $75.60.

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

About Sempra Energy

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.