Lazard Asset Management LLC Acquires 10,766 Shares of Sempra Energy $SRE

Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) by 41.0% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 37,026 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 10,766 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Sempra Energy were worth $3,598,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of SRE. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Sempra Energy by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,590,698 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $142,702,000 after acquiring an additional 74,749 shares in the last quarter. Dockside LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Sempra Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,938,000. Carnegie Investment Counsel increased its position in shares of Sempra Energy by 15.5% during the 1st quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel now owns 167,391 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $16,265,000 after purchasing an additional 22,408 shares during the last quarter. Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. purchased a new stake in Sempra Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $3,289,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Sempra Energy by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 76,734,070 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,774,907,000 after purchasing an additional 1,008,476 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Sempra Energy Stock Performance

Sempra Energy stock opened at $88.71 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a current ratio of 1.69. Sempra Energy has a fifty-two week low of $78.97 and a fifty-two week high of $101.04. The stock has a market cap of $57.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.07, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.56. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $91.77 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $92.49.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.51 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.51. Sempra Energy had a return on equity of 8.20% and a net margin of 14.31%.The company had revenue of $3.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.10 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.44 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. 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, analysts expect that Sempra Energy will post 5.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 25th were given a $0.6575 dividend. This represents a $2.63 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 25th. Sempra Energy’s payout ratio is currently 89.15%.

Insider Transactions at Sempra Energy

In other news, EVP Caroline Ann Winn sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.55, for a total value of $724,400.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 25,164 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,278,600.20. This represents a 24.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Diana L. Day sold 3,300 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.13, for a total transaction of $304,029.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 22,870 shares in the company, valued at $2,107,013.10. This trade represents a 12.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 13,900 shares of company stock valued at $1,261,207. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on SRE shares. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Sempra Energy in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $108.00 price target on shares of Sempra Energy in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Truist Financial set a $104.00 target price on shares of Sempra Energy and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 18th. BMO Capital Markets set a $102.00 price target on Sempra Energy and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, TD Cowen began coverage on shares of Sempra Energy in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.