GW Henssler & Associates Ltd. Raises Stock Holdings in Sempra Energy $SRE

Key Points

• GW Henssler & Associates Ltd. increased its holdings in Sempra Energy by 3.3%, now owning 353,620 shares valued at approximately $26.8 million, making it the 19th largest position in their portfolio.
• Several institutional investors significantly increased their positions in Sempra Energy, with Pingora Partners LLC raising its stake by 48.3% and ST Germain D J Co. Inc. by 230.8% in the most recent quarters.
• Sempra Energy has a consensus rating of "Hold" from analysts, with an average price target of $86.09 and recent upgrades raising targets as high as $95.00.

GW Henssler & Associates Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 3.3% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 353,620 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 11,437 shares during the quarter. Sempra Energy accounts for about 1.4% of GW Henssler & Associates Ltd.'s holdings, making the stock its 19th largest position. GW Henssler & Associates Ltd. owned about 0.05% of Sempra Energy worth $26,794,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Pingora Partners LLC increased its position in Sempra Energy by 48.3% in the first quarter. Pingora Partners LLC now owns 430 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. increased its position in Sempra Energy by 230.8% in the second quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 430 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Sempra Energy in the first quarter worth $38,000. Eastern Bank increased its position in Sempra Energy by 73.7% in the first quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 580 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 246 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barrett & Company Inc. purchased a new stake in Sempra Energy in the second quarter worth $51,000. 89.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on SRE. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $93.00 target price (up from $86.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a research report on Wednesday, September 24th. Mizuho raised their target price on Sempra Energy from $86.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 24th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Sempra Energy from $88.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, September 25th. Barclays raised their price target on Sempra Energy from $71.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 26th. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed 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. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $86.09.

Insider Activity at Sempra Energy

In related news, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 1,576 shares of Sempra Energy stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total transaction of $126,080.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 15,600 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,248,000. This trade represents a 9.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Kevin C. Sagara sold 14,433 shares of Sempra Energy stock in a transaction on Monday, September 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.50, for a total value of $1,291,753.50. Following the sale, the director directly owned 1,042 shares of the company's stock, valued at $93,259. This represents a 93.27% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 49,987 shares of company stock valued at $4,267,870. Company insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

Sempra Energy Price Performance

Sempra Energy stock opened at $90.15 on Friday. Sempra Energy has a one year low of $61.90 and a one year high of $95.77. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $84.32 and a 200-day moving average price of $78.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.48 and a quick ratio of 0.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $58.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.78, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.66.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.35 billion. Sempra Energy had a return on equity of 8.42% and a net margin of 20.28%.The firm's quarterly revenue was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.89 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Sempra Energy will post 4.76 EPS for the current year.

Sempra Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.645 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 1st. This represents a $2.58 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. Sempra Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 62.32%.

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.

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