Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) Stock Position Lifted by Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.

Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 14.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 217,319 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 27,196 shares during the period. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Sempra Energy were worth $15,508,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund lifted its position in Sempra Energy by 128.9% during the first quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund now owns 18,424 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,315,000 after buying an additional 10,375 shares during the period. Childress Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Sempra Energy by 6.3% during the 1st quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,111 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $222,000 after acquiring an additional 183 shares during the last quarter. Buck Wealth Strategies LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy by 13.7% during the 1st quarter. Buck Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 58,051 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $4,143,000 after acquiring an additional 7,012 shares during the period. Intact Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Sempra Energy by 30.4% in the first quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. now owns 78,100 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $5,573,000 after acquiring an additional 18,200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAM Holding AG purchased a new stake in Sempra Energy in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,437,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.65% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on shares of Sempra Energy from $77.00 to $75.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Barclays lowered Sempra Energy from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and cut their target price for the stock from $95.00 to $72.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Citigroup lowered their price target on Sempra Energy from $93.00 to $70.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Sempra Energy from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Argus downgraded Sempra Energy from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Sempra Energy currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $80.83.

Sempra Energy Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of SRE stock traded up $0.38 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $75.32. The company had a trading volume of 5,552,660 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,854,434. The company has a market capitalization of $49.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a current ratio of 0.57. Sempra Energy has a twelve month low of $61.90 and a twelve month high of $95.77. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $75.64 and its 200 day simple moving average is $77.39.

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

Sempra Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 26th will be issued a $0.645 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 26th. This represents a $2.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.43%. Sempra Energy's dividend payout ratio is currently 56.70%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sempra Energy

In other Sempra Energy news, EVP Justin Christopher Bird sold 4,817 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.23, for a total transaction of $343,114.91. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 19,778 shares in the company, valued at $1,408,786.94. This represents a 19.59% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Diana L. Day sold 8,015 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 now directly owns 16,969 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,260,117.94. This represents a 32.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.