Sempra Energy $SRE Shares Sold by Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA

Key Points

• Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA has reduced its stake in Sempra Energy by 27%, selling 176,179 shares and now holding approximately 0.07% of the company worth $36 million.
• Analysts have given Sempra Energy an average rating of "Moderate Buy" with a target price of $81.27, indicating positive expectations for the stock's performance.
• Sempra Energy has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.645, set to be paid on October 15th, reflecting a 3.1% yield and a payout ratio of 62.32%.

Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA cut its stake in shares of Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 27.0% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 475,451 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 176,179 shares during the quarter. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA owned approximately 0.07% of Sempra Energy worth $36,025,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. boosted its holdings in Sempra Energy by 1.7% in the first quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 8,169 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $583,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. Pingora Partners LLC boosted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted its holdings in Sempra Energy by 5.0% in the first quarter. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft now owns 2,988 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $211,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Sempra Energy by 1.3% in the first quarter. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC now owns 11,334 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $809,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wesbanco Bank Inc. boosted its holdings in Sempra Energy by 5.1% in the first quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 3,212 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $229,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares in the last quarter. 89.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Barclays boosted their price objective on Sempra Energy from $71.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 26th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of Sempra Energy in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Finally, Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating and set a $80.00 price target (up previously from $70.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $81.27.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Sempra Energy news, EVP Caroline Ann Winn sold 5,114 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.01, for a total value of $419,399.14. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 39,380 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,229,553.80. This trade represents a 11.49% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 1,576 shares of Sempra Energy stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total value of $126,080.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 15,600 shares in the company, valued at $1,248,000. This represents a 9.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 35,554 shares of company stock valued at $2,976,117. Insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

Sempra Energy Stock Down 0.8%

SRE opened at $82.52 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. The firm has a market cap of $53.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.93, a PEG ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.65. Sempra Energy has a 52 week low of $61.90 and a 52 week high of $95.77. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $81.30 and its 200 day simple moving average is $76.17.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $3.35 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.89 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Sempra Energy will post 4.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 1st will be paid a $0.645 dividend. This represents a $2.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 1st. Sempra Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.32%.

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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