15,578 Shares in Sempra Energy $SRE Bought by Tounjian Advisory Partners LLC

Tounjian Advisory Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 15,578 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,375,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of SRE. West Wealth Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy by 1.1% in the third quarter. West Wealth Group LLC now owns 10,207 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $942,000 after acquiring an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO increased its position in Sempra Energy by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO now owns 6,911 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $622,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares in the last quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Sempra Energy by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,587 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $773,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton lifted its stake in Sempra Energy by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 5,191 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $458,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Advisor OS LLC lifted its stake in Sempra Energy by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Advisor OS LLC now owns 9,681 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $871,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sempra Energy

In related news, Director Richard J. Mark bought 2,692 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $93.30 per share, with a total value of $251,163.60. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 17,376 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,621,180.80. This trade represents a 18.33% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Karen L. Sedgwick sold 4,872 shares of Sempra Energy stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.58, for a total value of $451,049.76. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 39,029 shares in the company, valued at $3,613,304.82. The trade was a 11.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders purchased 6,192 shares of company stock worth $576,979 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on SRE. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $101.00 target price on shares of Sempra Energy in a research note on Friday, February 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Sempra Energy from $98.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Wall Street Zen raised Sempra Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $100.00 price objective (up from $96.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Finally, Argus raised Sempra Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Sempra Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $100.55.

Sempra Energy Trading Down 3.7%

SRE opened at $91.75 on Friday. Sempra Energy has a fifty-two week low of $61.90 and a fifty-two week high of $97.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 1.59 and a quick ratio of 1.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $59.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.24, a PEG ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 0.73. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $91.45 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $90.06.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $1.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $3.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.82 billion. Sempra Energy had a net margin of 13.27% and a return on equity of 8.22%. The company’s revenue was down .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.50 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Sempra Energy will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Sempra Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 19th will be issued a $0.6575 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 19th. This is a positive change from Sempra Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. This represents a $2.63 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. Sempra Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 95.29%.

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.