Sempra Energy $SRE Shares Bought by Lee Danner & Bass Inc.

Key Points

• Lee Danner & Bass Inc. increased its holdings in Sempra Energy by 37.0% during the second quarter, accumulating a total of 63,405 shares valued at approximately $4.8 million.
• Several institutional investors have also recently increased their stakes in Sempra Energy, with 89.65% of the stock currently owned by such investors.
• Sempra Energy reported $0.89 EPS for the last quarter, surpassing expectations, while announcing a $0.645 quarterly dividend, yielding 2.8% annually.

Lee Danner & Bass Inc. raised its stake in Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 37.0% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 63,405 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 17,128 shares during the period. Lee Danner & Bass Inc.'s holdings in Sempra Energy were worth $4,804,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Pingora Partners LLC boosted its stake in Sempra Energy by 48.3% in the first quarter. Pingora Partners LLC now owns 430 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares during the period. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. raised its holdings in Sempra Energy by 230.8% during the second quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 430 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy by 74.1% in the second quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 444 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 189 shares in the last quarter. Eastern Bank grew its position in Sempra Energy by 73.7% during the 1st quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 580 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 246 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barrett & Company Inc. purchased a new position in Sempra Energy during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $51,000. 89.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Sempra Energy

In other news, EVP Caroline Ann Winn sold 5,114 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 39,380 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,229,553.80. This represents a 11.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Kevin C. Sagara sold 28,864 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.21, for a total transaction of $2,430,637.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 15,475 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,303,149.75. This trade represents a 65.10% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 48,411 shares of company stock valued at $4,141,790 in the last ninety days. 0.27% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Sempra Energy Stock Up 0.7%

Sempra Energy stock opened at $92.48 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $60.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.32, a P/E/G ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.48 and a quick ratio of 0.41. Sempra Energy has a fifty-two week low of $61.90 and a fifty-two week high of $95.77. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $86.07 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $79.40.

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

Sempra Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 1st were given a dividend of $0.645 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, October 1st. This represents a $2.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. Sempra Energy's dividend payout ratio is currently 62.32%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on SRE shares. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Sempra Energy in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Evercore ISI set a $105.00 price target on shares of Sempra Energy and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, October 6th. Barclays set a $101.00 price target on shares of Sempra Energy and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday. Mizuho increased their target price on shares of Sempra Energy from $86.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 24th. Finally, Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $80.00 target price (up from $70.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a research report on Monday, August 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $91.50.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.