Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) Shares Acquired by Arizona State Retirement System

Arizona State Retirement System grew its position in Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 2.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 185,885 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 4,315 shares during the quarter. Arizona State Retirement System's holdings in Sempra Energy were worth $13,265,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in SRE. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Sempra Energy during the 4th quarter worth about $14,760,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in Sempra Energy by 21.9% during the 4th quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 8,554 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $750,000 after purchasing an additional 1,534 shares in the last quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC increased its position in Sempra Energy by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC now owns 49,058 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $4,303,000 after purchasing an additional 1,513 shares in the last quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. increased its position in Sempra Energy by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 66,631 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $5,845,000 after purchasing an additional 1,948 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vestcor Inc increased its position in Sempra Energy by 36.8% during the 4th quarter. Vestcor Inc now owns 29,955 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,628,000 after purchasing an additional 8,062 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.65% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Diana L. Day sold 8,015 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.26, for a total value of $595,193.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 16,969 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,260,117.94. This represents a 32.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on Sempra Energy from $77.00 to $75.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Sempra Energy from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $88.00 price target (up from $87.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Sempra Energy from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price target on Sempra Energy from $93.00 to $70.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $80.75.

Sempra Energy Stock Performance

NYSE:SRE traded down $0.31 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $74.59. 2,819,308 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,884,529. Sempra Energy has a twelve month low of $61.90 and a twelve month high of $95.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.57 and a quick ratio of 0.51. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $75.91 and a 200 day moving average price of $76.38.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The utilities provider reported $1.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.32 by $0.12. Sempra Energy had a return on equity of 8.55% and a net margin of 22.15%. The business had revenue of $3.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.90 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.34 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Sempra Energy will post 4.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 26th will be paid a $0.645 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 26th. This represents a $2.58 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.46%. Sempra Energy's payout ratio is 56.70%.

Sempra Energy Company Profile

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.