Sempra Energy $SRE Shares Sold by Bahl & Gaynor Inc.

Key Points

• Bahl & Gaynor Inc. has reduced its stake in Sempra Energy by 1.1%, now holding approximately 4 million shares, which comprises 1.5% of its total portfolio.
• Several hedge funds, including Wellington Management Group and JPMorgan Chase & Co., have increased their holdings in Sempra Energy, with Wellington's stake rising by 26.8% to nearly 48.7 million shares valued at around $3.47 billion.
• Sempra Energy's latest earnings report shows an EPS of $0.89, exceeding the estimate of $0.82, but revenue fell slightly year-over-year, totaling $3 billion.

Bahl & Gaynor Inc. cut its stake in Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 1.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,001,946 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 42,674 shares during the quarter. Sempra Energy comprises about 1.5% of Bahl & Gaynor Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. owned 0.61% of Sempra Energy worth $285,579,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its position in 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 valued at $12,374,000 after purchasing an additional 13,433 shares during the period. Carrera Capital Advisors raised its position in Sempra Energy by 8.0% in the first quarter. Carrera Capital Advisors now owns 49,570 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,569,000 after purchasing an additional 3,677 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC raised its position in Sempra Energy by 171.2% in the first quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 11,107 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $793,000 after purchasing an additional 7,012 shares during the period. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Sempra Energy in the first quarter valued at about $483,000. Finally, Lee Danner & Bass Inc. raised its position in Sempra Energy by 81.0% in the first quarter. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. now owns 46,277 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,302,000 after purchasing an additional 20,707 shares during the period. 89.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SRE has been the topic of several research reports. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Sempra Energy from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Barclays lifted their target price on Sempra Energy from $71.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Citigroup reaffirmed 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of Sempra Energy in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $82.33.

Insider Activity at Sempra Energy

In other news, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 1,576 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total transaction of $126,080.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 15,600 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,248,000. This represents a 9.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Caroline Ann Winn sold 5,114 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.01, for a total value of $419,399.14. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 39,380 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,229,553.80. This trade represents a 11.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

Sempra Energy Stock Up 0.7%

NYSE SRE traded up $0.55 on Wednesday, hitting $82.33. 3,700,334 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,494,436. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $78.54 and a 200 day moving average of $75.69. Sempra Energy has a twelve month low of $61.90 and a twelve month high of $95.77. The company has a market capitalization of $53.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.62. 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 (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.07. Sempra Energy had a return on equity of 8.42% and a net margin of 20.28%.The firm had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.35 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.89 earnings per share. Sempra Energy's revenue for the quarter was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Sempra Energy will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.