Seed Wealth Management Inc. Acquires New Position in Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE)

Seed Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 3,410 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $243,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in Sempra Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Sempra Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Sempra Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. TCTC Holdings LLC lifted its stake in Sempra Energy by 265.2% in the fourth quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 336 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 244 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Human Investing LLC acquired a new stake in Sempra Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. 89.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sempra Energy Price Performance

NYSE:SRE opened at $74.10 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $48.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.28, a PEG ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 0.64. Sempra Energy has a one year low of $61.90 and a one year high of $95.77. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $74.84 and a 200 day moving average price of $78.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.57 and a quick ratio of 0.51.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last released 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. The firm had revenue of $3.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.90 billion. Sempra Energy had a net margin of 22.15% and a return on equity of 8.55%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.34 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Sempra Energy will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Sempra Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 26th will be paid a $0.645 dividend. This represents a $2.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.48%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 26th. Sempra Energy's dividend payout ratio is 56.70%.

Insider Activity

In other 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 value of $343,114.91. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 19,778 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,408,786.94. This represents a 19.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction of $595,193.90. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 16,969 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,260,117.94. The trade was a 32.08% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on SRE. Morgan Stanley set a $87.00 target price on shares of Sempra Energy and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Sempra Energy from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. Argus cut shares of Sempra Energy from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. UBS Group cut shares of Sempra Energy from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $95.00 to $78.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Barclays cut shares of Sempra Energy from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $95.00 to $72.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $80.75.

About Sempra Energy

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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