Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY Boosts Stock Position in Sempra Energy $SRE

Key Points

• Miller Howard Investments Inc. increased its stake in Sempra Energy by 6.5% by acquiring an additional 7,096 shares, bringing its total holdings to 116,365 shares valued at approximately $8.8 million.
• In the latest quarter, several institutional investors raised their stakes in Sempra Energy, with strong increases from firms like Vident Advisory LLC, which grew its holdings by 26%.
• Sempra Energy's recent earnings report showed a profit of $0.89 per share, exceeding analysts' expectations of $0.82, although its revenue was down 0.4% year-over-year.

Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY grew its stake in Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 6.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 116,365 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 7,096 shares during the quarter. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY's holdings in Sempra Energy were worth $8,817,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. raised its holdings in Sempra Energy by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 8,169 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $583,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares during the period. Pingora Partners LLC increased its stake in Sempra Energy by 48.3% during the 1st quarter. Pingora Partners LLC now owns 430 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased its stake in Sempra Energy by 5.0% during the 1st quarter. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft now owns 2,988 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $211,000 after buying an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Sempra Energy by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC now owns 11,334 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $809,000 after buying an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wesbanco Bank Inc. increased its stake in Sempra Energy by 5.1% during the 1st quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 3,212 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $229,000 after buying an additional 156 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.65% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SRE has been the subject of several research reports. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of Sempra Energy in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Barclays upped their price target on Sempra Energy from $71.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 26th. Finally, Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $80.00 price target (up from $70.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $81.27.

Sempra Energy Trading Down 0.8%

NYSE:SRE traded down $0.68 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $82.52. 6,042,652 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,496,070. The company has a quick ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. The business has a 50-day moving average of $81.14 and a two-hundred day moving average of $76.08. Sempra Energy has a twelve month low of $61.90 and a twelve month high of $95.77. The company has a market capitalization of $53.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.93, a PEG ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.65.

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, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.07. Sempra Energy had a return on equity of 8.42% and a net margin of 20.28%.The company had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.35 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.89 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Sempra Energy will post 4.76 EPS for the current year.

Sempra Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 1st will be paid a $0.645 dividend. This represents a $2.58 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 1st. Sempra Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.32%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Kevin C. Sagara sold 28,864 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.21, for a total value of $2,430,637.44. Following the sale, the director directly owned 15,475 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,303,149.75. This trade represents a 65.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Caroline Ann Winn sold 5,114 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.01, for a total value of $419,399.14. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 39,380 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,229,553.80. The trade was a 11.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 35,554 shares of company stock worth $2,976,117. Corporate insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

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.