Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP Has $46.98 Million Stock Position in Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE)

Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP lessened its stake in Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 41.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 658,373 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 470,675 shares during the quarter. Sempra Energy comprises about 1.0% of Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP's holdings, making the stock its 19th largest holding. Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP owned approximately 0.10% of Sempra Energy worth $46,981,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Sempra Energy during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Sempra Energy during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Mattson Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sempra Energy during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Park Square Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sempra Energy during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Finally, Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sempra Energy during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.65% of the company's stock.

Sempra Energy Trading Up 1.6%

Shares of NYSE SRE traded up $1.24 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $79.81. 3,398,948 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,878,046. Sempra Energy has a 1 year low of $61.90 and a 1 year high of $95.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $52.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.54, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a quick ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The business has a 50 day moving average of $75.93 and a two-hundred day moving average of $75.89.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The utilities provider reported $1.44 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.32 by $0.12. Sempra Energy had a return on equity of 8.55% and a net margin of 22.15%. The business had revenue of $3.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.90 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.34 earnings per share. Sempra Energy's revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Sempra Energy will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 26th were issued a dividend of $0.645 per share. This represents a $2.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 26th. Sempra Energy's dividend payout ratio is 56.70%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Sempra Energy from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Sempra Energy from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on Sempra Energy from $77.00 to $75.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Barclays decreased their price target on Sempra Energy from $72.00 to $71.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price target on Sempra Energy from $93.00 to $70.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Sempra Energy currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $80.75.

Insider Activity at Sempra Energy

In other news, insider Diana L. Day sold 8,015 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.26, for a total transaction of $595,193.90. Following the transaction, the insider owned 16,969 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,260,117.94. This represents a 32.08% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

Sempra Energy 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.