HighTower Advisors LLC Trims Stock Position in Sempra Energy $SRE

HighTower Advisors LLC lessened its stake in shares of Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) by 2.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,284,970 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 33,948 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Sempra Energy were worth $113,450,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Ares Financial Consulting LLC bought a new position in Sempra Energy in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Activest Wealth Management raised its position in Sempra Energy by 74.6% during the 3rd quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 391 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. Board of the Pension Protection Fund purchased a new stake in shares of Sempra Energy in the 4th quarter worth $35,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy by 88.8% in the 4th quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 406 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 191 shares during the period. Finally, JPL Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Sempra Energy during the 3rd quarter worth $41,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Sempra Energy

In other Sempra Energy news, Director Jennifer M. Kirk purchased 1,000 shares of Sempra Energy stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 12th. The shares were 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 approximately $93,440. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Pablo Ferrero sold 2,600 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.53, for a total value of $232,778.00. Following the sale, the director owned 15,423 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,380,821.19. This represents a 14.43% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have bought 6,192 shares of company stock valued at $576,979 and have sold 13,439 shares valued at $1,243,713. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded Sempra Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Sunday, May 10th. Truist Financial set a $104.00 target price on shares of Sempra Energy and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $105.00 target price (up from $95.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Sempra Energy from $98.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $100.00 price objective (up from $96.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a research note on Friday, March 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $102.67.

Sempra Energy Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of NYSE SRE opened at $91.33 on Wednesday. Sempra Energy has a 1-year low of $73.06 and a 1-year high of $101.04. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $94.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $91.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $59.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.41 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.69 and a quick ratio of 1.66.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.51. The company had revenue of $3.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.10 billion. Sempra Energy had a return on equity of 8.20% and a net margin of 14.31%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.44 earnings per share. Sempra Energy has set its FY 2027 guidance at 5.100-5.700 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 4.870-5.370 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Sempra Energy will post 5.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 25th will be paid a dividend of $0.6575 per share. This represents a $2.63 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 25th. Sempra Energy’s payout ratio is 89.15%.

About Sempra Energy

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.