Hennessy Advisors Inc. Sells 18,800 Shares of Sempra Energy $SRE

Key Points

• Hennessy Advisors Inc. reduced its position in Sempra Energy by 5.5%, selling 18,800 shares, and now holds 324,880 shares valued at approximately $24.6 million.
• Sempra Energy recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.645 per share, representing an annualized yield of 2.8%, with the payout taking place on October 15th.
• Several investment firms have raised their price targets for Sempra Energy, with BMO Capital Markets increasing their target from $88 to $95.

Hennessy Advisors Inc. reduced its position in shares of Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 5.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 324,880 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 18,800 shares during the period. Hennessy Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Sempra Energy were worth $24,616,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in SRE. Pingora Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 140 shares during the period. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy by 230.8% during the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Sempra Energy during the 1st quarter worth approximately $38,000. Eastern Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy by 73.7% during the 1st quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 580 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 246 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barrett & Company Inc. bought a new position in shares of Sempra Energy during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $51,000. 89.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Sempra Energy

In related news, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 1,576 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 15,600 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,248,000. This represents a 9.18% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Kevin C. Sagara sold 14,433 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the director directly owned 1,042 shares of the company's stock, valued at $93,259. The trade was a 93.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 49,987 shares of company stock valued at $4,267,870. 0.27% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SRE has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets increased 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 increased their target price on Sempra Energy from $71.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 26th. Citigroup reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $80.00 target price (up from $70.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a report on Monday, August 4th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $93.00 target price (up from $86.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a report on Wednesday, September 24th. Finally, Mizuho increased their target price on Sempra Energy from $86.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 24th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Sempra Energy presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $84.55.

Sempra Energy Trading Up 2.5%

NYSE SRE opened at $91.48 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $59.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.10, a PEG ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.66. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $83.20 and a 200 day simple moving average of $77.26. Sempra Energy has a 12 month low of $61.90 and a 12 month high of $95.77. The company has a current ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.07. The business 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%.Sempra Energy's quarterly revenue was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.89 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Sempra Energy will post 4.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 1st will be given a $0.645 dividend. This represents a $2.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 1st. Sempra Energy's dividend payout ratio is presently 62.32%.

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.

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