Sather Financial Group Inc Invests $262,000 in Sempra Energy $SRE

Key Points

• Sather Financial Group Inc invested $262,000 in Sempra Energy, acquiring 3,453 shares, according to their latest SEC filing.
• Several institutional investors, including Farther Finance Advisors LLC and Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co., have significantly increased their stakes in Sempra Energy over the past quarter.
• Sempra Energy reported a quarterly earnings per share of $0.89, surpassing analysts’ expectations, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.645, yielding 2.9% annually.

Sather Financial Group Inc bought a new position in Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 3,453 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $262,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of SRE. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Sempra Energy by 65.1% in the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 5,191 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $371,000 after purchasing an additional 2,046 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy by 462.0% in the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 10,548 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $753,000 after purchasing an additional 8,671 shares during the period. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. increased its stake in Sempra Energy by 1,283.7% in the first quarter. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. now owns 265,485 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $18,945,000 after acquiring an additional 246,299 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Sempra Energy by 8.4% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 173,408 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $12,374,000 after acquiring an additional 13,433 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Byrne Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Sempra Energy by 8,087.5% in the first quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC now owns 3,930 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $280,000 after acquiring an additional 3,882 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.65% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Kevin C. Sagara sold 14,433 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.50, for a total value of $1,291,753.50. Following the sale, the director owned 1,042 shares in the company, valued at approximately $93,259. This trade represents a 93.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Caroline Ann Winn sold 5,114 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 14th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $3,229,553.80. This represents a 11.49% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 49,987 shares of company stock worth $4,267,870. 0.27% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Sempra Energy Price Performance

Shares of SRE opened at $90.15 on Friday. Sempra Energy has a twelve month low of $61.90 and a twelve month high of $95.77. 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 firm has a 50 day moving average of $84.32 and a 200 day moving average of $78.08. The company has a market capitalization of $58.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.66.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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 net margin of 20.28% and a return on equity of 8.42%. The company had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.35 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.89 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Sempra Energy will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 1st will be issued a $0.645 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 1st. This represents a $2.58 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. Sempra Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 62.32%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on SRE. Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating and set a $80.00 price target (up from $70.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Sempra Energy from $71.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 26th. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $93.00 price objective (up from $86.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a report on Wednesday, September 24th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Sempra Energy from $88.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, September 25th. Finally, Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Sempra Energy from $86.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 24th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Sempra Energy presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $86.09.

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.

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