Friedenthal Financial Acquires Shares of 11,673 Sempra Energy $SRE

Key Points

• Friedenthal Financial acquired a new stake of 11,673 shares of Sempra Energy in Q4, valued at roughly $1.03 million.
• Sempra Energy beat Q4 EPS estimates ($1.28 vs. $1.12) while revenue was slightly down year‑over‑year, and it raised the quarterly dividend to $0.6575 (annualized $2.63, ~2.8% yield) with a payout ratio around 95%.
• Institutional investors own about 89.7% of the stock, and analysts have a consensus "Moderate Buy" rating with a target price near $101.64.

Friedenthal Financial acquired a new stake in shares of Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 11,673 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,031,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in SRE. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Sempra Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Activest Wealth Management grew its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy by 74.6% during the 3rd quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 391 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares during the period. Board of the Pension Protection Fund purchased a new position in shares of Sempra Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. grew its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy by 117.4% during the 3rd quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. now owns 424 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 229 shares during the period. Finally, JPL Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Sempra Energy during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $41,000. 89.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sempra Energy Stock Performance

Shares of SRE stock opened at $94.00 on Friday. Sempra Energy has a one year low of $69.08 and a one year high of $101.04. The company's 50-day moving average is $94.91 and its 200 day moving average is $91.85. The company has a market capitalization of $61.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 1.59.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $1.28 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.16. Sempra Energy had a net margin of 13.27% and a return on equity of 8.22%. The company had revenue of $3.75 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.82 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.50 EPS. Sempra Energy's revenue for the quarter was down .2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Sempra Energy will post 4.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 19th were paid a dividend of $0.6575 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 19th. This represents a $2.63 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. This is a positive change from Sempra Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. Sempra Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 95.29%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Sempra Energy from $113.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, March 23rd. Argus raised shares of Sempra Energy from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $100.00 target price (up from $96.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $101.00 target price on shares of Sempra Energy in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Sempra Energy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Sunday, March 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $101.64.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sempra Energy

In other Sempra Energy news, Director Jennifer M. Kirk bought 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 12th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $93.44 per share, for a total transaction of $93,440.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 1,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $93,440. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Dyan Z. Wold sold 1,539 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.38, for a total value of $146,789.82. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 4,633 shares in the company, valued at approximately $441,895.54. This represents a 24.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders bought 6,192 shares of company stock worth $576,979 and sold 7,539 shares worth $706,906. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Sempra Energy Profile

Sempra Energy is a San Diego–based energy infrastructure company that develops, owns and operates businesses delivering electricity and natural gas. Its operations include regulated utility services that provide electric and gas distribution to residential, commercial and industrial customers, as well as non‑regulated infrastructure businesses that develop and manage large-scale energy assets.

The company's product and service portfolio spans electricity and natural gas delivery, transmission and storage, liquefied natural gas (LNG) facilities, power generation and electric transmission projects.

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