Sempra Energy $SRE Shares Purchased by Janney Montgomery Scott LLC

Key Points

• Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its stake in Sempra Energy by 2.4%, owning 302,644 shares valued at approximately $22.93 million as of the latest SEC filing.
• Insiders have recently sold shares, with EVP Caroline Ann Winn selling 5,114 shares and Director Kevin C. Sagara selling 28,864 shares, indicating a significant reduction in their ownership stakes.
• Sempra Energy plans to pay a quarterly dividend of $0.645 per share on October 15, representing an annualized yield of 2.9%.

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its stake in shares of Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 2.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 302,644 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 7,016 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC's holdings in Sempra Energy were worth $22,931,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Pingora Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Sempra Energy by 48.3% in the first quarter. Pingora Partners LLC now owns 430 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. increased its position in shares of Sempra Energy by 230.8% in the second quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 430 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sempra Energy in the first quarter worth $38,000. Eastern Bank increased its position in shares of Sempra Energy by 73.7% in the first quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 580 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 246 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Harbor Investment Advisory LLC increased its position in shares of Sempra Energy by 188.9% in the first quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 855 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $61,000 after acquiring an additional 559 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.65% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sempra Energy

In other Sempra Energy news, EVP Caroline Ann Winn sold 5,114 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.01, for a total transaction of $419,399.14. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 39,380 shares in the company, valued at $3,229,553.80. This represents a 11.49% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Kevin C. Sagara sold 28,864 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.21, for a total transaction of $2,430,637.44. Following the transaction, the director owned 15,475 shares in the company, valued at $1,303,149.75. This trade represents a 65.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 49,987 shares of company stock worth $4,267,870 in the last ninety days. 0.27% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Sempra Energy Price Performance

Shares of SRE stock opened at $89.22 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $58.21 billion, a PE ratio of 21.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.66. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $82.82 and a 200-day simple moving average of $76.99. The company has a current ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. Sempra Energy has a twelve month low of $61.90 and a twelve month high of $95.77.

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

Sempra Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.645 per share. This represents a $2.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 1st. Sempra Energy's dividend payout ratio is 62.32%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $80.00 price objective (up previously from $70.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Mizuho increased their price objective 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. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Sempra Energy from $71.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 26th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Sempra Energy from $88.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $93.00 target price (up from $86.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a research note on Wednesday, September 24th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $84.55.

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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