Premier Fund Managers Ltd Has $697,000 Stock Position in Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE)

Premier Fund Managers Ltd decreased its position in Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 69.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,000 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 22,500 shares during the quarter. Premier Fund Managers Ltd's holdings in Sempra Energy were worth $697,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Sempra Energy during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Mattson Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Sempra Energy during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Park Square Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Sempra Energy during the 4th quarter worth $41,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Sempra Energy during the 1st quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Cary Street Partners Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sempra Energy during the 4th quarter worth $56,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.65% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Sempra Energy from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Barclays decreased their target price on Sempra Energy from $72.00 to $71.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Citigroup reduced their price target on Sempra Energy from $93.00 to $70.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on Sempra Energy from $77.00 to $75.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $88.00 price target (up from $87.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Sempra Energy presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $80.75.

Sempra Energy Price Performance

SRE stock traded down $0.71 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $80.97. 2,661,712 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,611,700. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $76.60 and a 200 day simple moving average of $75.85. Sempra Energy has a one year low of $61.90 and a one year high of $95.77. The company has a market cap of $52.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a current ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89.

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. Equities analysts forecast that Sempra Energy will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Sempra Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 26th were paid a $0.645 dividend. This represents a $2.58 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 26th. Sempra Energy's dividend payout ratio is currently 56.70%.

Insider Activity

In other Sempra Energy news, insider Diana L. Day sold 8,015 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.26, for a total value of $595,193.90. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 16,969 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,260,117.94. This represents a 32.08% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 1,576 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total value of $126,080.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 15,600 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,248,000. The trade was a 9.18% 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.