AlphaQuest LLC Invests $333,000 in Sempra Energy $SRE

Key Points

• AlphaQuest LLC recently acquired a new stake in Sempra Energy valued at approximately $333,000, purchasing 4,660 shares during the first quarter.
• Several large investors increased their holdings in Sempra Energy, with Van Hulzen Asset Management growing its stake by 68.5%, indicating strong institutional interest in the company.
• Sempra Energy reported earnings of $0.89 per share for the last quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations and showing a 20.28% net margin, despite a slight decline in revenue year-over-year.

AlphaQuest LLC bought a new position in shares of Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund bought 4,660 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $333,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Sempra Energy by 68.5% during the first quarter. Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC now owns 9,875 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $705,000 after buying an additional 4,016 shares during the period. Tortoise Capital Advisors L.L.C. lifted its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy by 36.0% during the 1st quarter. Tortoise Capital Advisors L.L.C. now owns 1,440,125 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $102,767,000 after acquiring an additional 380,970 shares in the last quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. boosted its position in Sempra Energy by 77.9% during the 1st quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 238,555 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $17,023,000 after purchasing an additional 104,455 shares during the period. Newport Trust Company LLC increased its holdings in Sempra Energy by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Newport Trust Company LLC now owns 13,331,160 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $951,312,000 after purchasing an additional 41,104 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its holdings in Sempra Energy by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,275,259 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $161,509,000 after purchasing an additional 23,793 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.65% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Sempra Energy from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Citigroup reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $80.00 target price (up from $70.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a report on Monday, August 4th. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Sempra Energy in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Sempra Energy from $71.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 26th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Sempra Energy presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $82.33.

Sempra Energy Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of SRE stock traded up $0.31 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $82.87. 4,127,143 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,299,674. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 0.48. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $79.28 and its 200 day simple moving average is $75.66. The company has a market capitalization of $54.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.65. Sempra Energy has a fifty-two week low of $61.90 and a fifty-two week high of $95.77.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 earnings per share (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 analysts' expectations of $3.35 billion. Sempra Energy had a net margin of 20.28% and a return on equity of 8.42%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.89 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Sempra Energy will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current year.

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.