Empowered Funds LLC Grows Stake in Sempra Energy $SRE

Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) by 41.0% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 54,979 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 15,987 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Sempra Energy were worth $5,342,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bell Investment Advisors Inc lifted its holdings in Sempra Energy by 79.5% in the first quarter. Bell Investment Advisors Inc now owns 262 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares during the period. Ares Financial Consulting LLC purchased a new position in shares of Sempra Energy during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd lifted its holdings in Sempra Energy by 57.7% during the fourth quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd now owns 347 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Sempra Energy by 83.0% during the 4th quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 355 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Key Financial Inc boosted its stake in shares of Sempra Energy by 73.6% in the fourth quarter. Key Financial Inc now owns 361 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Sempra Energy Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of SRE opened at $88.71 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.69 and a quick ratio of 1.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $57.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.56. Sempra Energy has a 1 year low of $78.97 and a 1 year high of $101.04. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $91.77 and its 200-day simple moving average is $92.49.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.51 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.51. Sempra Energy had a net margin of 14.31% and a return on equity of 8.20%. The firm had revenue of $3.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.10 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.44 earnings per share. Sempra Energy’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. 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. As a group, equities analysts expect that Sempra Energy will post 5.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 25th were given a dividend of $0.6575 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 25th. This represents a $2.63 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. Sempra Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 89.15%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Pablo Ferrero sold 2,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.53, for a total transaction of $232,778.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 15,423 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,380,821.19. This represents a 14.43% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Caroline Ann Winn sold 8,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.55, for a total transaction of $724,400.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 25,164 shares in the company, valued at $2,278,600.20. This represents a 24.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 13,900 shares of company stock valued at $1,261,207 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on SRE. Truist Financial set a $104.00 target price on shares of Sempra Energy and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 18th. BMO Capital Markets set a $102.00 price target on shares of Sempra Energy and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $108.00 price target on shares of Sempra Energy in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Sempra Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $118.00 price objective on shares of Sempra Energy in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $104.23.

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.