Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd Grows Holdings in Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE)

Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 211.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 52,185 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 35,404 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd's holdings in Sempra Energy were worth $3,724,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC grew its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. MJP Associates Inc. ADV boosted its stake in shares of Sempra Energy by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. MJP Associates Inc. ADV now owns 6,195 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $543,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Sempra Energy by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 2,639 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $232,000 after acquiring an additional 126 shares in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. grew its position in shares of Sempra Energy by 1.7% during the first quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 8,169 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $583,000 after acquiring an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wesbanco Bank Inc. raised its position in Sempra Energy by 5.1% during the 1st quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 3,212 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $229,000 after buying an additional 156 shares during the last quarter. 89.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Sempra Energy Stock Performance

Shares of SRE traded up $1.24 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $79.81. The stock had a trading volume of 3,398,948 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,885,009. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.57 and a quick ratio of 0.51. Sempra Energy has a 12 month low of $61.90 and a 12 month high of $95.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $52.03 billion, a PE ratio of 17.54, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.63. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $75.93 and a 200 day moving average price of $75.89.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The utilities provider reported $1.44 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.32 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $3.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.90 billion. Sempra Energy had a return on equity of 8.55% and a net margin of 22.15%. Sempra Energy's quarterly revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.34 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Sempra Energy will post 4.76 EPS for the current year.

Sempra Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 26th were paid a $0.645 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 26th. This represents a $2.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.23%. Sempra Energy's dividend payout ratio is currently 56.70%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Diana L. Day sold 8,015 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.26, for a total value of $595,193.90. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 16,969 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,260,117.94. This represents a 32.08% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.27% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on SRE. Barclays dropped their price target on 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. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Sempra Energy from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on shares of Sempra Energy from $77.00 to $75.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. BMO Capital Markets raised 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. Finally, Citigroup decreased their target price on Sempra Energy from $93.00 to $70.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $80.75.

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.