Hennessy Advisors Inc. Decreases Holdings in Sempra Energy $SRE

Hennessy Advisors Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) by 5.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 324,880 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 18,800 shares during the quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Sempra Energy were worth $24,616,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Tritonpoint Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Sempra Energy by 2.2% during the 2nd quarter. Tritonpoint Wealth LLC now owns 5,999 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $458,000 after purchasing an additional 132 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. increased its holdings in Sempra Energy by 1.7% in the 1st 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. Pingora Partners LLC increased its holdings in Sempra Energy by 48.3% in the 1st quarter. Pingora Partners LLC now owns 430 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased its holdings in Sempra Energy by 5.0% in the 1st quarter. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft now owns 2,988 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $211,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Applied Finance Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Sempra Energy by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC now owns 11,334 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $809,000 after acquiring an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. 89.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sempra Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SRE opened at $91.48 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $59.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.10, a P/E/G ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a current ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. Sempra Energy has a 1-year low of $61.90 and a 1-year high of $95.77. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $83.20 and its 200 day moving average is $77.26.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.35 billion. Sempra Energy had a return on equity of 8.42% and a net margin of 20.28%.The business’s quarterly revenue was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.89 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Sempra Energy will post 4.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Energy Announces Dividend

The business 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 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 1st. Sempra Energy’s payout ratio is 62.32%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Sempra Energy news, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 1,576 shares of Sempra Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total value of $126,080.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 15,600 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,248,000. The trade was a 9.18% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Caroline Ann Winn sold 5,114 shares of Sempra Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.01, for a total value of $419,399.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 39,380 shares in the company, valued at $3,229,553.80. This trade represents a 11.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 49,987 shares of company stock valued at $4,267,870 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on SRE shares. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Sempra Energy from $88.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, September 25th. Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $80.00 price objective (up previously from $70.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a report on Monday, August 4th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $93.00 price objective (up previously from $86.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a report on Wednesday, September 24th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Sempra Energy in a report on Saturday, September 27th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on Sempra Energy from $71.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 26th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Sempra Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $84.55.

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.