Soltis Investment Advisors LLC Buys Shares of 2,845 Sempra Energy $SRE

Soltis Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 2,845 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $216,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Westside Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Sempra Energy by 51.2% in 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 in the last quarter. Mendel Money Management increased its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy by 1.6% during the second quarter. Mendel Money Management now owns 8,476 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $642,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Tritonpoint Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Sempra Energy by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter. Tritonpoint Wealth LLC now owns 5,999 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $458,000 after purchasing an additional 132 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. raised its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Sempra Energy by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 25,370 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,922,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Sempra Energy Stock Up 0.9%

SRE opened at $93.63 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $61.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.62, a PEG ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.68. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $88.43 and a 200-day moving average price of $81.32. Sempra Energy has a twelve month low of $61.90 and a twelve month high of $95.77. The company has a quick ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.11 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.84 by $0.27. The business had revenue of $3.15 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.99 billion. Sempra Energy had a net margin of 20.28% and a return on equity of 8.42%. The firm’s revenue was up 13.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.89 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Sempra Energy will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Sempra Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 11th will be given a dividend of $0.645 per share. This represents a $2.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 11th. Sempra Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 62.32%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sempra Energy

In other Sempra Energy news, Director Kevin C. Sagara sold 28,864 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.21, for a total value of $2,430,637.44. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 15,475 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,303,149.75. This trade represents a 65.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 4,322 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.55, for a total value of $400,001.10. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 11,325 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,048,128.75. This represents a 27.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 52,733 shares of company stock valued at $4,541,791. 0.27% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on SRE. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Sempra Energy from $101.00 to $98.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group set a $89.00 price target on shares of Sempra Energy and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on shares of Sempra Energy in a report on Monday, October 27th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $115.00 price objective for the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Sempra Energy in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $99.00 target price on shares of Sempra Energy in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $95.42.

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.