Machina Capital S.A.S. Acquires Shares of 24,496 Sempra Energy $SRE

Machina Capital S.A.S. acquired a new stake in Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 24,496 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,856,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of SRE. Westside Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Sempra Energy by 51.2% during the second quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 375 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares during the period. Pingora Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Sempra Energy by 48.3% during the first 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 period. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. increased its stake in shares of Sempra Energy by 230.8% during the second quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 430 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the period. Bogart Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of Sempra Energy by 74.1% during the second quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 444 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 189 shares during the period. Finally, Eastern Bank increased its stake in shares of Sempra Energy by 73.7% during the first quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 580 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 246 shares during the period. 89.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Sempra Energy Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of NYSE SRE opened at $92.04 on Monday. Sempra Energy has a 12-month low of $61.90 and a 12-month high of $95.77. The company has a market capitalization of $60.05 billion, a PE ratio of 22.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.48 and a quick ratio of 0.41. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $87.35 and its two-hundred day moving average is $80.70.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.07. Sempra Energy had a net margin of 20.28% and a return on equity of 8.42%. The company had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.35 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.89 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Sempra Energy will post 4.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 1st were issued a $0.645 dividend. This represents a $2.58 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, October 1st. Sempra Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 62.32%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group set a $89.00 price target on shares of Sempra Energy and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Sempra Energy from $86.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 24th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Sempra Energy in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Evercore ISI set a $105.00 price objective on shares of Sempra Energy and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 6th. Finally, BTIG Research raised shares of Sempra Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Sempra Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $94.00.

Insider Activity

In other Sempra Energy news, Director Kevin C. Sagara sold 14,433 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.50, for a total value of $1,291,753.50. Following the sale, the director owned 1,042 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $93,259. This represents a 93.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction of $419,399.14. Following the completion of the sale, 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 position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 48,411 shares of company stock worth $4,141,790 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

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.