Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) Position Lessened by Westmount Partners LLC

Westmount Partners LLC trimmed its position in shares of Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) by 6.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,842 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 646 shares during the period. Westmount Partners LLC’s holdings in Sempra Energy were worth $702,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy by 1.5% during the fourth 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 raised its holdings in Sempra Energy by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. MJP Associates Inc. ADV now owns 6,195 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $543,000 after buying an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Sempra Energy by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 2,639 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $232,000 after buying an additional 126 shares in the last quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. raised its holdings in Sempra Energy by 5.1% during the first quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 3,212 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $229,000 after buying an additional 156 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Centre Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Sempra Energy by 3.3% during the first quarter. Centre Asset Management LLC now owns 4,986 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $356,000 after buying an additional 158 shares in the last quarter. 89.65% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Sempra Energy

In related news, insider Diana L. Day sold 8,015 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.26, for a total transaction of $595,193.90. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 16,969 shares in the company, valued at $1,260,117.94. The trade was a 32.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.27% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Sempra Energy Trading Down 0.4%

Sempra Energy stock opened at $74.59 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a current ratio of 0.57. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $75.91 and its 200-day simple moving average is $76.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.62 billion, a PE ratio of 16.39, a PEG ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.63. Sempra Energy has a 52 week low of $61.90 and a 52 week high of $95.77.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The utilities provider reported $1.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.32 by $0.12. Sempra Energy had a return on equity of 8.55% and a net margin of 22.15%. The firm had revenue of $3.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.90 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.34 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Sempra Energy will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Sempra Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 26th will be paid a dividend of $0.645 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 26th. This represents a $2.58 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.46%. Sempra Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 56.70%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on SRE shares. Barclays cut their target price on Sempra Energy from $72.00 to $71.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Sempra Energy from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Sempra Energy from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Argus lowered Sempra Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on Sempra Energy from $77.00 to $75.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Sempra Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $80.75.

Sempra Energy 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.