Sempra Energy $SRE Shares Acquired by Aberdeen Group plc

Key Points

• Aberdeen Group plc increased its stake in Sempra Energy by 83.6%, owning 603,702 shares worth approximately $42.3 million as of the latest SEC filing.
• Insider selling included EVP Caroline Ann Winn, who sold 5,114 shares for nearly $419,400, reducing her position by 11.49%.
• Sempra Energy recently reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $0.89, exceeding analysts' expectations, but revenue was slightly below forecasts at $3 billion.

Aberdeen Group plc raised its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 83.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 603,702 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 274,862 shares during the period. Aberdeen Group plc owned approximately 0.09% of Sempra Energy worth $42,271,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in SRE. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Sempra Energy by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,931,807 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $137,825,000 after buying an additional 8,680 shares during the last quarter. Horizon Investments LLC grew its position in shares of Sempra Energy by 12.4% during the first quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 47,171 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,366,000 after purchasing an additional 5,194 shares in the last quarter. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. grew its position in shares of Sempra Energy by 53.2% during the first quarter. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. now owns 57,000 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $4,068,000 after purchasing an additional 19,800 shares in the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Sempra Energy by 34.6% during the first quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 11,026 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $787,000 after purchasing an additional 2,832 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. grew its position in Sempra Energy by 15.8% in the first quarter. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. now owns 9,656 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $689,000 after acquiring an additional 1,317 shares in the last quarter. 89.65% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $88.00 price target (up previously from $87.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Sempra Energy from $72.00 to $71.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $80.00 price target (up from $70.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Sempra Energy from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Sempra Energy presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $81.58.

Sempra Energy Price Performance

SRE traded down $1.2030 during trading on Thursday, reaching $81.1970. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,327,680 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,521,241. The company has a market cap of $52.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.61, a PEG ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a quick ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $77.95 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $75.74. Sempra Energy has a 1 year low of $61.90 and a 1 year high of $95.77.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.35 billion. Sempra Energy had a net margin of 20.28% and a return on equity of 8.42%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.89 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Sempra Energy will post 4.76 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Sempra Energy news, EVP Caroline Ann Winn sold 5,114 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.01, for a total value of $419,399.14. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 39,380 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,229,553.80. The trade was a 11.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 1,576 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total transaction of $126,080.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 15,600 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,248,000. This trade represents a 9.18% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.27% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Sempra Energy

Sempra operates as an energy infrastructure company in the United States and internationally. It operates through three segments: Sempra California, Sempra Texas Utilities, and Sempra Infrastructure. The Sempra California segment provides electric services; and natural gas services to San Diego County.