Potomac Fund Management Inc. ADV Grows Stock Holdings in Sempra Energy $SRE

Potomac Fund Management Inc. ADV raised its stake in Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) by 17.8% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 6,916 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,044 shares during the quarter. Potomac Fund Management Inc. ADV’s holdings in Sempra Energy were worth $487,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of SRE. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC increased its holdings in Sempra Energy by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 8,194 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $719,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. Capital Analysts LLC increased its holdings in Sempra Energy by 61.1% in the 4th quarter. Capital Analysts LLC now owns 857 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $75,000 after acquiring an additional 325 shares during the last quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Sempra Energy by 20.4% in the 4th quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 8,572 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $752,000 after acquiring an additional 1,455 shares during the last quarter. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC bought a new stake in Sempra Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $6,001,000. Finally, Boothbay Fund Management LLC bought a new stake in Sempra Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $206,000. 89.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on SRE shares. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $88.00 price target (up from $87.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Sempra Energy from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $80.00 price target (up from $70.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Sempra Energy from $72.00 to $71.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $81.58.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 1,576 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total transaction of $126,080.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 15,600 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,248,000. This represents a 9.18% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Caroline Ann Winn sold 5,114 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.01, for a total transaction of $419,399.14. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 39,380 shares in the company, valued at $3,229,553.80. The trade was a 11.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Sempra Energy Stock Performance

Sempra Energy stock opened at $82.8240 on Monday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $78.23 and its 200-day moving average price is $75.65. Sempra Energy has a twelve month low of $61.90 and a twelve month high of $95.77. The company has a quick ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. The company has a market cap of $54.04 billion, a PE ratio of 20.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 0.62.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.07. Sempra Energy had a net margin of 20.28% and a return on equity of 8.42%. The firm had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.35 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.89 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Sempra Energy will post 4.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.