Osaic Holdings Inc. Acquires 50,566 Shares of Sempra Energy $SRE

Osaic Holdings Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) by 42.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 169,998 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 50,566 shares during the quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc.’s holdings in Sempra Energy were worth $12,650,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Westside Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Sempra Energy by 51.2% during the 2nd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 375 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Pingora Partners LLC grew its position in Sempra Energy by 48.3% in 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 in the last quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC increased its stake in Sempra Energy by 245.1% during the second quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 421 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 299 shares during the last quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. increased its stake in 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 last quarter. Finally, Bogart Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of Sempra Energy by 74.1% in the 2nd quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 444 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 189 shares during the last quarter. 89.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sempra Energy Stock Performance

SRE stock opened at $86.97 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $56.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.68, a PEG ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.73. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $91.38 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $84.38. Sempra Energy has a one year low of $61.90 and a one year high of $95.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 1.56 and a current ratio of 1.59.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.84 by $0.27. Sempra Energy had a net margin of 15.63% and a return on equity of 8.67%. The firm had revenue of $3.15 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.99 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.89 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 13.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Sempra Energy will post 4.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.645 per share. This represents a $2.58 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 11th. Sempra Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 79.14%.

Insider Transactions at Sempra Energy

In other Sempra Energy news, CFO Karen L. Sedgwick sold 7,564 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.29, for a total value of $698,081.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 41,280 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,809,731.20. This trade represents a 15.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Dyan Z. Wold sold 1,510 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.38, for a total transaction of $137,983.80. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 3,481 shares in the company, valued at approximately $318,093.78. This trade represents a 30.25% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 33,829 shares of company stock worth $3,077,360. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SRE has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Sempra Energy from $95.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Barclays reduced their price objective on Sempra Energy from $101.00 to $98.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 6th. BTIG Research upgraded Sempra Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $99.00 price target (up previously from $80.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a research report on Monday, November 24th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Sempra Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, November 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Sempra Energy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $96.17.

Sempra Energy Profile

Sempra Energy is a San Diego–based energy infrastructure company that develops, owns and operates businesses delivering electricity and natural gas. Its operations include regulated utility services that provide electric and gas distribution to residential, commercial and industrial customers, as well as non‑regulated infrastructure businesses that develop and manage large-scale energy assets.

The company’s product and service portfolio spans electricity and natural gas delivery, transmission and storage, liquefied natural gas (LNG) facilities, power generation and electric transmission projects.