Hantz Financial Services Inc. Sells 34,184 Shares of Sempra Energy $SRE

Key Points

• Hantz Financial Services cut its Sempra Energy stake by 28.1% in the fourth quarter, selling 34,184 shares and ending with 87,373 shares worth about $7.7 million.
• Sempra saw mixed insider activity: director Cynthia J. Warner bought 2,500 shares, while insider Diana L. Day sold 3,300 shares under a pre-arranged trading plan; over the past 90 days, insiders were net sellers.
• Analysts remain broadly positive on Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE), with a consensus Moderate Buy rating and average price target of $102.67, while the company also reaffirmed quarterly earnings of $1.51 per share and declared a $0.6575 quarterly dividend.

Hantz Financial Services Inc. reduced its holdings in Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 28.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 87,373 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 34,184 shares during the quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc.'s holdings in Sempra Energy were worth $7,714,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Sempra Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,216,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Sempra Energy by 69.8% in the 4th quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 379,460 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $33,503,000 after purchasing an additional 155,944 shares during the last quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Sempra Energy by 23.6% in the 4th quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 15,982 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,411,000 after purchasing an additional 3,047 shares during the last quarter. Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Sempra Energy by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC now owns 10,210 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $901,000 after buying an additional 204 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its position in Sempra Energy by 82.5% in the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 5,872 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $518,000 after buying an additional 2,655 shares during the last quarter. 89.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Sempra Energy news, insider Diana L. Day sold 3,300 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.13, for a total transaction of $304,029.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 22,870 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,107,013.10. The trade was a 12.61% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Cynthia J. Warner purchased 2,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $92.95 per share, with a total value of $232,375.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 11,275 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,048,011.25. This trade represents a 28.49% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders have purchased 6,192 shares of company stock worth $576,979 and have sold 13,439 shares worth $1,243,713. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SRE has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley set a $104.00 price target on Sempra Energy and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of Sempra Energy from $105.00 to $103.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Sempra Energy from $98.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th. Truist Financial set a $104.00 price target on shares of Sempra Energy and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 18th. Finally, Argus raised Sempra Energy from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Sempra Energy currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $102.67.

Sempra Energy Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of SRE opened at $92.89 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.69, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $60.72 billion, a PE ratio of 31.49, a P/E/G ratio of 3.50 and a beta of 0.60. The firm's 50 day moving average is $94.53 and its 200-day moving average is $91.96. Sempra Energy has a 12 month low of $73.06 and a 12 month high of $101.04.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.51 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.51. Sempra Energy had a net margin of 14.31% and a return on equity of 8.20%. The firm had revenue of $3.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.10 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.44 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was down 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sempra Energy has set its FY 2027 guidance at 5.100-5.700 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 4.870-5.370 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Sempra Energy will post 5.11 EPS for the current year.

Sempra Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 25th will be paid a dividend of $0.6575 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 25th. This represents a $2.63 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. Sempra Energy's payout ratio is presently 89.15%.

Sempra Energy Company 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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