Sempra Energy $SRE Shares Purchased by Maryland State Retirement & Pension System

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System grew its stake in shares of Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) by 2.9% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 637,124 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 17,671 shares during the period. Sempra Energy accounts for 1.2% of Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest position. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Sempra Energy were worth $57,328,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of SRE. QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Sempra Energy by 80.5% in the 3rd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 9,508 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $855,000 after acquiring an additional 4,241 shares during the period. Evergreen Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Sempra Energy by 3.7% in the third quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 6,559 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $590,000 after purchasing an additional 232 shares during the last quarter. Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Sempra Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $721,000. Ritholtz Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Sempra Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $281,000. Finally, TKG Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Sempra Energy by 7.4% during the third quarter. TKG Advisors LLC now owns 7,134 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $642,000 after buying an additional 489 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Sempra Energy

In other Sempra Energy news, CAO Dyan Z. Wold sold 1,510 shares of the firm’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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $318,093.78. This trade represents a 30.25% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Karen L. Sedgwick sold 7,564 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.29, for a total transaction of $698,081.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 41,280 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,809,731.20. This represents a 15.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders sold 19,396 shares of company stock worth $1,785,606. 0.27% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. BTIG Research raised shares of Sempra Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Mizuho lifted their price target on Sempra Energy from $86.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 24th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Sempra Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, November 8th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Sempra Energy from $101.00 to $98.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Finally, Evercore ISI set a $105.00 price target on shares of Sempra Energy and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 6th. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $96.17.

Sempra Energy Trading Up 1.0%

Sempra Energy stock opened at $92.53 on Friday. Sempra Energy has a 52-week low of $61.90 and a 52-week high of $95.72. The company has a quick ratio of 1.56, a current ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $60.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.38, a PEG ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.74. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $90.10 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $86.35.

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 return on equity of 8.67% and a net margin of 15.63%.The business had revenue of $3.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.99 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.89 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Sempra Energy will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Sempra Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 11th were paid a dividend of $0.645 per share. This represents a $2.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 11th. Sempra Energy’s payout ratio is currently 79.14%.

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.