Sempra Energy $SRE Shares Purchased by Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co.

Key Points

• Duff & Phelps Investment Management increased its position in Sempra Energy by 5.2% in Q3, buying 106,380 shares to hold 2,143,205 shares (about 0.33% of SRE) valued at $192.8 million, making Sempra its fifth-largest holding.
• Company insiders bought stock on March 11 — Director Cynthia J. Warner purchased 2,500 shares at ~$92.95 and Director Richard J. Mark bought 2,692 shares at ~$93.30 — bringing insider ownership to roughly 0.27%.
• Sempra raised its quarterly dividend to $0.6575 (annualized $2.63, yield ~2.8%; ex-dividend March 19) and reported Q results with EPS of $1.28, beating estimates by $0.16 while revenue was slightly below consensus.

Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. grew its position in Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,143,205 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 106,380 shares during the period. Sempra Energy makes up approximately 2.2% of Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co.'s holdings, making the stock its 5th biggest position. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. owned 0.33% of Sempra Energy worth $192,846,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in SRE. Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in Sempra Energy by 52.5% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 18,008 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,285,000 after buying an additional 6,196 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP raised its stake in Sempra Energy by 40.7% during the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 53,512 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,819,000 after acquiring an additional 15,474 shares in the last quarter. Ignite Planners LLC boosted its position in Sempra Energy by 3.1% during the 2nd quarter. Ignite Planners LLC now owns 12,396 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $970,000 after acquiring an additional 371 shares during the period. Savant Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Sempra Energy by 4.1% in the second quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 8,743 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $662,000 after purchasing an additional 344 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PFG Advisors grew its stake in shares of Sempra Energy by 4.3% in the second quarter. PFG Advisors now owns 4,854 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $368,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.65% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Sempra Energy news, Director Cynthia J. Warner purchased 2,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $92.95 per share, for a total transaction of $232,375.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 11,275 shares in the company, valued at $1,048,011.25. This represents a 28.49% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Richard J. Mark purchased 2,692 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $93.30 per share, for a total transaction of $251,163.60. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 17,376 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,621,180.80. This represents a 18.33% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and set a $101.00 price objective on shares of Sempra Energy in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Sempra Energy from $112.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating and set a $100.00 price target (up from $96.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Sempra Energy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, March 7th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $99.00 price objective (up from $80.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a report on Monday, November 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $100.00.

Sempra Energy Price Performance

NYSE:SRE opened at $92.76 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. The business's 50-day moving average price is $90.53 and its 200 day moving average price is $89.45. Sempra Energy has a 52-week low of $61.90 and a 52-week high of $97.44. The firm has a market cap of $60.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.61, a PEG ratio of 3.48 and a beta of 0.73.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $1.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.16. Sempra Energy had a net margin of 13.27% and a return on equity of 8.22%. The company had revenue of $3.75 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.82 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.50 EPS. Sempra Energy's revenue was down .2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Sempra Energy will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.6575 per share. This is a boost from Sempra Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. This represents a $2.63 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 19th. Sempra Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 93.48%.

Sempra Energy Company Profile

Sempra Energy is a San Diego–based energy infrastructure company that develops, owns and operates businesses delivering electricity and natural gas. Its operations include regulated utility services that provide electric and gas distribution to residential, commercial and industrial customers, as well as non‑regulated infrastructure businesses that develop and manage large-scale energy assets.

The company's product and service portfolio spans electricity and natural gas delivery, transmission and storage, liquefied natural gas (LNG) facilities, power generation and electric transmission projects.

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