626 Financial LLC Makes New Investment in Sempra Energy $SRE

626 Financial LLC purchased a new position in Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 2,768 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $210,000.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Mendel Money Management lifted its stake in Sempra Energy by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Mendel Money Management now owns 8,476 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $642,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Sempra Energy by 4.2% in the 2nd quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 97,750 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $7,407,000 after purchasing an additional 3,931 shares in the last quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Sempra Energy by 11.1% in the 2nd quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,980 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $304,000 after purchasing an additional 399 shares in the last quarter. Vision Financial Markets LLC purchased a new stake in Sempra Energy in the 2nd quarter worth $76,000. Finally, Oak Grove Capital LLC lifted its stake in Sempra Energy by 54.4% in the 2nd quarter. Oak Grove Capital LLC now owns 59,600 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,516,000 after purchasing an additional 21,000 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Sempra Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:SRE opened at $92.65 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $60.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.38, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.66. Sempra Energy has a 12 month low of $61.90 and a 12 month high of $95.77. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $86.75 and its 200 day moving average is $80.15. 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 (NYSE:SRE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 firm posted $0.89 EPS. Research analysts predict that Sempra Energy will post 4.76 EPS for the current year.

Sempra Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 1st were 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 was Wednesday, October 1st. Sempra Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 62.32%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group set a $89.00 target price on shares of Sempra Energy and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Sempra Energy from $86.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 24th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $99.00 target price on shares of Sempra Energy in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Barclays set a $101.00 target price on shares of Sempra Energy and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 20th. Finally, Evercore ISI set a $105.00 target price on shares of Sempra Energy and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $94.00.

Insider Transactions at Sempra Energy

In other Sempra Energy news, EVP Caroline Ann Winn sold 5,114 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.01, for a total value of $419,399.14. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 39,380 shares in the company, valued at $3,229,553.80. This represents a 11.49% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Kevin C. Sagara sold 28,864 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director owned 15,475 shares in the company, valued at $1,303,149.75. This represents a 65.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 48,411 shares of company stock worth $4,141,790 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

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.