Nisa Investment Advisors LLC Sells 119,528 Shares of Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE)

Nisa Investment Advisors LLC decreased its holdings in Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 47.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 130,257 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 119,528 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC's holdings in Sempra Energy were worth $9,379,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in SRE. L & S Advisors Inc lifted its position in shares of Sempra Energy by 52.6% in the fourth quarter. L & S Advisors Inc now owns 41,601 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,649,000 after buying an additional 14,338 shares in the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Sempra Energy by 171.2% in the first quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 11,107 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $793,000 after buying an additional 7,012 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 worth $12,374,000 after buying an additional 13,433 shares in the last quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Sempra Energy in the first quarter worth about $1,099,000. Finally, Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. lifted its position in shares of 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 worth $18,945,000 after buying an additional 246,299 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.65% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sempra Energy

In related news, insider Diana L. Day sold 8,015 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owned 16,969 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,260,117.94. This represents a 32.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on SRE shares. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $88.00 target price (up from $87.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Barclays decreased their target price on Sempra Energy from $72.00 to $71.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group decreased 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. Argus downgraded Sempra Energy from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price objective 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. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $80.75.

Sempra Energy Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of NYSE SRE traded down $0.31 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $74.59. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,819,308 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,882,120. The company has a current ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The business's 50 day moving average is $75.91 and its two-hundred day moving average is $76.46. Sempra Energy has a 12-month low of $61.90 and a 12-month high of $95.77. The firm has a market cap of $48.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.63.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The utilities provider reported $1.44 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $3.80 billion for 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. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Sempra Energy will post 4.76 EPS for the current year.

Sempra Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 26th will be issued a $0.645 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 26th. This represents a $2.58 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.46%. Sempra Energy's payout ratio is 56.70%.

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.