Sempra Energy $SRE Stock Holdings Trimmed by Perpetual Ltd

Perpetual Ltd reduced its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) by 0.8% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 3,208,880 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 26,227 shares during the quarter. Sempra Energy makes up approximately 4.1% of Perpetual Ltd’s holdings, making the stock its largest holding. Perpetual Ltd’s holdings in Sempra Energy were worth $283,312,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in shares of Sempra Energy by 52.5% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 18,008 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,285,000 after purchasing an additional 6,196 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP grew its position in Sempra Energy by 40.7% during the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 53,512 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,819,000 after purchasing an additional 15,474 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in Sempra Energy by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 143,208 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $10,851,000 after purchasing an additional 3,866 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Sempra Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $207,000. Finally, M&T Bank Corp increased its stake in Sempra Energy by 8.6% during the 2nd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 42,886 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,249,000 after purchasing an additional 3,392 shares in the last quarter. 89.65% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Justin Christopher Bird sold 1,128 shares of Sempra Energy stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.69, for a total value of $109,066.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 21,632 shares in the company, valued at $2,091,598.08. The trade was a 4.96% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Dyan Z. Wold sold 1,539 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.38, for a total value of $146,789.82. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 4,633 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $441,895.54. The trade was a 24.94% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders acquired 6,192 shares of company stock worth $576,979 and sold 7,539 shares worth $706,906. Insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on SRE. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Sempra Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Sunday, March 29th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Sempra Energy from $113.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 23rd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Sempra Energy in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Barclays set a $95.00 price target on Sempra Energy and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. 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 assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $100.73.

Sempra Energy Stock Performance

SRE opened at $99.20 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $92.87 and a 200 day moving average price of $91.01. Sempra Energy has a 1 year low of $61.90 and a 1 year high of $99.28. The stock has a market cap of $64.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.94, a P/E/G ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 1.59 and a quick ratio of 1.57.

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

Sempra Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 19th will be given a dividend of $0.6575 per share. This is a boost from Sempra Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 19th. This represents a $2.63 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. Sempra Energy’s payout ratio is 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.