Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) Shares Purchased by Foundations Investment Advisors LLC

Key Points

• Foundations Investment Advisors LLC has increased its holdings in Sempra Energy by 15.8% in the first quarter, now owning over 100,000 shares valued at approximately $7.14 million.
• Institutional ownership of Sempra Energy is significant, with 89.65% of the stock held by various hedge funds and investors, demonstrating strong financial interest in the utilities provider.
• Sempra Energy recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.645 per share, which signifies an annualized yield of 3.21% and reflects the company's commitment to returning value to its shareholders.

Foundations Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 15.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 100,042 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 13,652 shares during the quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC's holdings in Sempra Energy were worth $7,139,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Sempra Energy by 11.9% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 38,407,154 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,369,076,000 after acquiring an additional 4,082,261 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Sempra Energy by 8.0% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 20,489,918 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,797,376,000 after acquiring an additional 1,511,313 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Sempra Energy by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 13,072,966 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,143,248,000 after acquiring an additional 311,094 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in Sempra Energy by 8.1% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,181,693 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $629,978,000 after acquiring an additional 538,919 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in Sempra Energy by 70.6% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,666,240 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $584,763,000 after acquiring an additional 2,758,037 shares during the period. 89.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on Sempra Energy from $77.00 to $75.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on 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 price objective on Sempra Energy from $72.00 to $71.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $88.00 price objective (up previously from $87.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price objective on Sempra Energy from $93.00 to $70.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $80.75.

Insider Activity at Sempra Energy

In other Sempra Energy news, insider Diana L. Day sold 8,015 shares of Sempra Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.26, for a total transaction of $595,193.90. Following the transaction, the insider owned 16,969 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,260,117.94. The trade was a 32.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 1,576 shares of Sempra Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total value of $126,080.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 15,600 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,248,000. This trade represents a 9.18% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

Sempra Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SRE opened at $80.35 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a current ratio of 0.57. Sempra Energy has a fifty-two week low of $61.90 and a fifty-two week high of $95.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $52.38 billion, a PE ratio of 17.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.63. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $76.36 and its 200-day simple moving average is $75.74.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last issued its 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 business had revenue of $3.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.90 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.34 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Sempra Energy will post 4.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 26th were given a dividend of $0.645 per share. This represents a $2.58 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.21%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 26th. Sempra Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.70%.

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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