Greenland Capital Management LP Reduces Stock Holdings in Sempra Energy $SRE

Greenland Capital Management LP lowered its stake in Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) by 11.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 28,086 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 3,674 shares during the period. Greenland Capital Management LP’s holdings in Sempra Energy were worth $2,128,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of SRE. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Sempra Energy in the first quarter worth about $1,396,000. Lindbrook Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Sempra Energy by 42.1% in the 1st quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 3,425 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $244,000 after acquiring an additional 1,015 shares in the last quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Sempra Energy by 18.3% in the 1st quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC now owns 5,796 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $414,000 after purchasing an additional 896 shares during the period. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Sempra Energy by 9.3% during the first quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC now owns 12,530 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $944,000 after purchasing an additional 1,065 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ignite Planners LLC grew its stake in Sempra Energy by 11.7% in the first quarter. Ignite Planners LLC now owns 12,025 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $898,000 after purchasing an additional 1,261 shares during the period. 89.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on SRE shares. BTIG Research upgraded shares of Sempra Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Evercore ISI set a $105.00 price target on Sempra Energy and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 6th. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on Sempra Energy in a research note on Monday, October 27th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $115.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group boosted their target price on Sempra Energy from $82.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, November 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $99.00 target price on shares of Sempra Energy in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Sempra Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $95.42.

Sempra Energy Stock Performance

NYSE:SRE opened at $91.59 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 0.48. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $89.96 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $82.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $59.78 billion, a PE ratio of 22.12, a P/E/G ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.68. Sempra Energy has a 52-week low of $61.90 and a 52-week high of $95.77.

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

Sempra Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 11th will be issued a $0.645 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 11th. This represents a $2.58 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. Sempra Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 79.14%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sempra Energy

In other Sempra Energy news, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 4,322 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.55, for a total transaction of $400,001.10. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 11,325 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,048,128.75. This trade represents a 27.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Kevin C. Sagara sold 28,864 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.21, for a total value 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. The trade was a 65.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 47,619 shares of company stock valued at $4,122,392 in the last ninety days. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.