USA Financial Formulas Invests $663,000 in Sempra Energy $SRE

USA Financial Formulas acquired a new stake in shares of Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 7,511 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $663,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Sempra Energy during the third quarter worth $25,000. Activest Wealth Management increased its stake in Sempra Energy by 74.6% in the 3rd quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 391 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 167 shares during the period. Board of the Pension Protection Fund purchased a new stake in Sempra Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. boosted its position in Sempra Energy by 117.4% in the 3rd quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. now owns 424 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 229 shares during the period. Finally, JPL Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Sempra Energy in the 3rd quarter worth about $41,000. Institutional investors own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Jennifer M. Kirk purchased 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 12th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $93.44 per share, with a total value of $93,440.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 1,000 shares in the company, valued at $93,440. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Richard J. Mark acquired 2,692 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $93.30 per share, for a total transaction of $251,163.60. Following the transaction, the director owned 17,376 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,621,180.80. The trade was a 18.33% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders bought a total of 6,192 shares of company stock worth $576,979 over the last ninety days. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Sempra Energy Stock Performance

Shares of SRE stock opened at $95.72 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $62.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.68, a PEG ratio of 3.63 and a beta of 0.73. Sempra Energy has a 52-week low of $61.90 and a 52-week high of $97.44. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. The company’s 50 day moving average is $91.85 and its 200 day moving average is $90.55.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $1.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $3.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.82 billion. Sempra Energy had a return on equity of 8.22% and a net margin of 13.27%.Sempra Energy’s revenue was down .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.50 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Sempra Energy will post 4.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 19th will be given a $0.6575 dividend. This represents a $2.63 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 19th. This is a positive change from Sempra Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. Sempra Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 95.29%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on SRE shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Sempra Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Sunday. Barclays set a $95.00 price objective on Sempra Energy and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Sempra Energy from $113.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, March 23rd. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $100.00 price target (up from $96.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised 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, March 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $100.73.

Sempra Energy Company 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.