Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC Sells 2,717 Shares of Sempra Energy $SRE

Key Points

• Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC reduced its stake in Sempra Energy by 14.7%, selling 2,717 shares to hold 15,803 shares valued at approximately $1.2 million.
• Sempra Energy reported $0.89 earnings per share for the last quarter, exceeding estimates, but experienced a revenue decline of 0.4% year-over-year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.645 per share, effective October 15th, representing an annualized yield of 2.8%.

Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC reduced its stake in Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 14.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 15,803 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 2,717 shares during the quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC's holdings in Sempra Energy were worth $1,197,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Capital Advisors Inc. OK lifted its stake in shares of Sempra Energy by 74.4% in the second quarter. Capital Advisors Inc. OK now owns 8,225 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $623,000 after buying an additional 3,509 shares during the last quarter. PUREfi Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Sempra Energy by 14.6% during the second quarter. PUREfi Wealth LLC now owns 3,794 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $287,000 after acquiring an additional 482 shares during the period. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Sempra Energy by 76.9% in the second quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 5,510 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $418,000 after purchasing an additional 2,395 shares during the last quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC bought a new position in shares of Sempra Energy in the second quarter worth about $1,370,000. Finally, BridgePort Financial Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sempra Energy during the 2nd quarter worth about $204,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.65% of the company's stock.

Sempra Energy Price Performance

Sempra Energy stock opened at $93.36 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $83.94 and a 200 day simple moving average of $77.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.48 and a quick ratio of 0.41. The company has a market capitalization of $60.91 billion, a PE ratio of 22.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.66. Sempra Energy has a one year low of $61.90 and a one year high of $95.77.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.07. Sempra Energy had a return on equity of 8.42% and a net margin of 20.28%.The firm had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.35 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.89 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Sempra Energy will post 4.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 1st will be given a $0.645 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 1st. This represents a $2.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. Sempra Energy's payout ratio is 62.32%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Sempra Energy in a report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $93.00 target price (up from $86.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a research note on Wednesday, September 24th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Sempra Energy from $86.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 24th. Evercore ISI set a $105.00 target price on shares of Sempra Energy and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Sempra Energy from $88.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $86.09.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Caroline Ann Winn sold 5,114 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.01, for a total transaction of $419,399.14. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 39,380 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,229,553.80. This trade represents a 11.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Kevin C. Sagara sold 14,433 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.50, for a total transaction of $1,291,753.50. Following the transaction, the director owned 1,042 shares in the company, valued at approximately $93,259. This trade represents a 93.27% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 49,987 shares of company stock valued at $4,267,870. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.

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