Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC Buys 4,016 Shares of Sempra Energy $SRE

Key Points

• Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Sempra Energy by 68.5%, now owning 9,875 shares valued at $705,000.
• Multiple institutional investors, including MML Investors Services LLC and MGO One Seven LLC, have recently adjusted their positions in Sempra Energy, with a total institutional ownership of 89.65%.
• Analysts have set a consensus target price of $81.58 for Sempra Energy, with ratings ranging from "Moderate Buy" to "Equal Weight" by various firms.

Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 68.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 9,875 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 4,016 shares during the period. Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC's holdings in Sempra Energy were worth $705,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. MML Investors Services LLC increased its stake in Sempra Energy by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 47,989 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $4,210,000 after acquiring an additional 592 shares during the last quarter. MGO One Seven LLC lifted its stake in Sempra Energy by 174.6% during the fourth quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 15,368 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,348,000 after purchasing an additional 9,772 shares during the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 8,194 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $719,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. Capital Analysts LLC increased its position in shares of Sempra Energy by 61.1% during the 4th quarter. Capital Analysts LLC now owns 857 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $75,000 after purchasing an additional 325 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Coldstream Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Sempra Energy by 20.4% during the 4th quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 8,572 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $752,000 after purchasing an additional 1,455 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.65% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on SRE. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on 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 reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $88.00 price target (up from $87.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Sempra Energy from $72.00 to $71.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $80.00 target price (up previously from $70.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a report on Monday, August 4th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Sempra Energy has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $81.58.

Sempra Energy Stock Up 2.1%

Shares of Sempra Energy stock opened at $82.8240 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 0.48. Sempra Energy has a 52-week low of $61.90 and a 52-week high of $95.77. The company's 50 day moving average price is $78.23 and its 200-day moving average price is $75.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $54.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.01, a P/E/G ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.62.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Sempra Energy

In other news, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 1,576 shares of the firm'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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 15,600 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,248,000. This trade represents a 9.18% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Caroline Ann Winn sold 5,114 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.01, for a total transaction of $419,399.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 39,380 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,229,553.80. The trade was a 11.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.

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