Magnetar Financial LLC Acquires 33,635 Shares of Sempra Energy $SRE

Magnetar Financial LLC grew its holdings in Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) by 528.9% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 39,994 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 33,635 shares during the quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC’s holdings in Sempra Energy were worth $3,030,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in SRE. PFG Advisors lifted its stake in Sempra Energy by 88.3% during the first quarter. PFG Advisors now owns 4,652 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $332,000 after purchasing an additional 2,181 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy by 11.1% in the 1st quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 74,046 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,284,000 after buying an additional 7,415 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its position in shares of Sempra Energy by 34.6% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 175,509 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $12,524,000 after buying an additional 45,076 shares during the period. Trilogy Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in Sempra Energy in the 1st quarter valued at $204,000. Finally, Applied Finance Capital Management LLC grew its position in Sempra Energy by 1.3% in the first quarter. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC now owns 11,334 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $809,000 after acquiring an additional 143 shares during the period. 89.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Sempra Energy

In other Sempra Energy news, EVP Caroline Ann Winn sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.70, for a total transaction of $45,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 33,664 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,086,988.80. The trade was a 1.46% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, 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. The trade was a 30.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 55,129 shares of company stock worth $4,809,916. Insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Sempra Energy Trading Up 2.0%

SRE opened at $92.54 on Friday. Sempra Energy has a 1-year low of $61.90 and a 1-year high of $95.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $60.40 billion, a PE ratio of 22.35, a PEG ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a current ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $90.46 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $82.59.

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

Sempra Energy Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on SRE. BTIG Research raised Sempra Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Sempra Energy from $86.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 24th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $89.00 price target on shares of Sempra Energy and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Sempra Energy in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Sempra Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, November 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Sempra Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $95.33.

Sempra Energy Company 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.