Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Sempra Energy $SRE

Key Points

• Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Sempra Energy by 46.1%, acquiring an additional 79,860 shares, bringing their total holdings to 253,268 shares worth approximately $19 million.
• Analysts have raised their price targets for Sempra Energy, with Barclays and Citigroup setting targets of $80.00, indicating several analysts view the stock positively.
• Sempra Energy announced a quarterly dividend of $0.645 per share, translating to an annualized dividend yield of 3.1%, with the ex-dividend date set for October 1st.

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its position in Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 46.1% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 253,268 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 79,860 shares during the quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC's holdings in Sempra Energy were worth $19,026,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of SRE. Mattson Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sempra Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Pingora Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Sempra Energy by 48.3% in the 1st quarter. Pingora Partners LLC now owns 430 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sempra Energy in the 1st quarter valued at $38,000. Park Square Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Sempra Energy during the fourth quarter worth $41,000. Finally, Eastern Bank boosted its stake in Sempra Energy by 73.7% during 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. 89.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on SRE. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Sempra Energy from $71.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 26th. Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $80.00 target price (up from $70.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Sempra Energy in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $81.27.

Sempra Energy Price Performance

Sempra Energy stock traded up $3.13 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $85.50. 2,493,755 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,503,686. Sempra Energy has a one year low of $61.90 and a one year high of $95.77. The stock has a market cap of $55.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 0.48. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $81.30 and a 200-day moving average price of $76.17.

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 (EPS) 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 analyst estimates of $3.35 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.89 earnings per share. Sempra Energy's revenue for the quarter was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Sempra Energy will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 1st will be issued a $0.645 dividend. This represents a $2.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 1st. Sempra Energy's payout ratio is presently 62.32%.

Insider Transactions at Sempra Energy

In other news, EVP Caroline Ann Winn sold 5,114 shares of the business'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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 39,380 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,229,553.80. The trade was a 11.49% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Kevin C. Sagara sold 28,864 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the director owned 15,475 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,303,149.75. The trade was a 65.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 35,554 shares of company stock worth $2,976,117. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.