Horizon Investments LLC Has $4.21 Million Position in Sempra Energy $SRE

Key Points

• Horizon Investments cut its stake in Sempra Energy by 21.9%, selling 13,387 shares and leaving it with 47,705 shares valued at about $4.21 million, while institutional investors own roughly 89.65% of the stock.
• Analysts maintain a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" on Sempra with a consensus price target of $102.67, and several firms have set targets ranging up to $108 with buy/overweight opinions.
• Sempra beat quarterly EPS estimates ($1.28 vs. $1.12) but missed revenue expectations slightly, and recently raised its quarterly dividend to $0.6575 (annualized $2.63) for a ~2.8% yield with a 95.3% payout ratio.

Horizon Investments LLC reduced its holdings in Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 21.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 47,705 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 13,387 shares during the quarter. Horizon Investments LLC's holdings in Sempra Energy were worth $4,212,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Sempra Energy in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Ares Financial Consulting LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sempra Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Activest Wealth Management lifted its stake in shares of Sempra Energy by 74.6% in the third quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 391 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 167 shares during the period. Board of the Pension Protection Fund bought a new stake in shares of Sempra Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Salomon & Ludwin LLC lifted its stake in shares of Sempra Energy by 88.8% in the fourth quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 406 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 191 shares during the period. 89.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on SRE. Truist Financial set a $108.00 target price on shares of Sempra Energy and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Morgan Stanley set a $104.00 target price on shares of Sempra Energy and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Sempra Energy in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Argus upgraded shares of Sempra Energy from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $100.00 target price (up from $96.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $102.67.

Sempra Energy Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of SRE opened at $94.79 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $61.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.34, a P/E/G ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. Sempra Energy has a 12 month low of $73.06 and a 12 month high of $101.04. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $95.13 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $91.97.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $1.28 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $3.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.82 billion. Sempra Energy had a net margin of 13.27% and a return on equity of 8.22%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.50 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Sempra Energy will post 5.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. This is a positive change from Sempra Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. This represents a $2.63 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 19th. Sempra Energy's dividend payout ratio is 95.29%.

Insider Activity

In other Sempra Energy news, EVP Justin Christopher Bird sold 1,128 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.69, for a total transaction of $109,066.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 21,632 shares in the company, valued at $2,091,598.08. This trade represents a 4.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Dyan Z. Wold sold 1,539 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.38, for a total transaction of $146,789.82. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 4,633 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $441,895.54. This represents a 24.94% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have purchased 6,192 shares of company stock valued at $576,979 and have sold 7,539 shares valued at $706,906. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Sempra Energy

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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