Sierra Summit Advisors LLC Purchases 7,399 Shares of Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE)

Key Points

• Sierra Summit Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Sempra Energy by 109.5%, acquiring an additional 7,399 shares to own a total of 14,153 shares worth approximately $1,010,000.
• Sempra Energy reported $0.89 earnings per share for the latest quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations of $0.82, but experienced a 0.4% decline in revenue compared to the same quarter last year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.645 per share with an annualized dividend yield of 3.2%, reflecting a payout ratio of 56.70%.

Sierra Summit Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 109.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 14,153 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 7,399 shares during the period. Sierra Summit Advisors LLC's holdings in Sempra Energy were worth $1,010,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SRE. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its stake in Sempra Energy by 71.3% during the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 4,651,923 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $408,069,000 after purchasing an additional 1,936,865 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Sempra Energy by 42.7% during the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,647,990 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $331,681,000 after purchasing an additional 1,391,433 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Sempra Energy by 1.9% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 64,238,102 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $4,584,032,000 after purchasing an additional 1,220,047 shares during the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. increased its stake in Sempra Energy by 100.3% during the fourth quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,185,244 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $103,970,000 after purchasing an additional 593,481 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Sempra Energy by 4,338.0% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 592,074 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $42,250,000 after purchasing an additional 578,733 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.65% of the company's stock.

Sempra Energy Trading Down 0.9%

Sempra Energy stock traded down $0.72 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $80.99. The stock had a trading volume of 3,906,491 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,527,349. 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 stock has a market cap of $52.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.62. Sempra Energy has a one year low of $61.90 and a one year high of $95.77. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $77.14 and its 200-day simple moving average is $75.67.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.35 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.89 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Sempra Energy will post 4.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 26th were paid a dividend of $0.645 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 26th. This represents a $2.58 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. Sempra Energy's payout ratio is 62.32%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Diana L. Day sold 8,015 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.26, for a total value of $595,193.90. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 16,969 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,260,117.94. The trade was a 32.08% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 1,576 shares of the business's 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 transaction, the senior vice president owned 15,600 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,248,000. This represents a 9.18% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on SRE shares. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Sempra Energy from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and set a $88.00 price target (up previously from $87.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. 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 report on Monday, August 4th. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Sempra Energy from $72.00 to $71.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on shares of Sempra Energy from $77.00 to $75.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $81.58.

About Sempra Energy

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.