Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. Sells 19,663 Shares of Sempra Energy $SRE

Key Points

• Oppenheimer Asset Management reduced its stake in Sempra by 8.8%, selling 19,663 shares in Q4 and retaining 204,104 shares worth about $18.02 million.
• Sempra beat quarterly EPS estimates ($1.28 vs. $1.12) while revenue slightly missed ($3.75B vs. $3.82B); the stock trades near $95 with a market cap of $62.12B and a P/E of 34.45.
• The company increased its quarterly dividend to $0.6575 ($2.63 annual, yield ~2.8%) while insiders were modest net sellers last quarter (6,192 shares bought vs. 7,539 sold), including a CAO sale and a director purchase.

Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 8.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 204,104 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 19,663 shares during the period. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Sempra Energy were worth $18,020,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Sempra Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Ares Financial Consulting LLC bought a new position in Sempra Energy during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Activest Wealth Management grew its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy by 74.6% during the 3rd quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 391 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares during the period. Board of the Pension Protection Fund purchased a new position in shares of Sempra Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Salomon & Ludwin LLC grew its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy by 88.8% during the 4th quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 406 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 191 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.65% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sempra Energy

In other news, CAO Dyan Z. Wold sold 1,539 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 directly owned 4,633 shares of the company's stock, valued at $441,895.54. This represents a 24.94% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Jennifer M. Kirk purchased 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 12th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $93.44 per share, for a total transaction of $93,440.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 1,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $93,440. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders bought 6,192 shares of company stock worth $576,979 and sold 7,539 shares worth $706,906. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded Sempra Energy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Sunday, March 29th. Morgan Stanley set a $104.00 price target on Sempra Energy and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $100.00 price target (up from $96.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Sempra Energy in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Truist Financial set a $108.00 price target on Sempra Energy and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $102.67.

Sempra Energy Stock Performance

Shares of SRE opened at $95.09 on Friday. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $95.13 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $91.96. The company has a current ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 1.57 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 market cap of $62.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.45, a P/E/G ratio of 3.50 and a beta of 0.67.

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

Sempra Energy Increases Dividend

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

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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