B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG Grows Holdings in Sempra Energy $SRE

Key Points

• B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG increased its stake in Sempra Energy by 20.9% in Q4, buying 17,140 shares to hold 99,085 shares worth about $8.78 million per its latest 13F filing.
• Wall Street analysts have a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" on Sempra with an average price target of $102.67, and several firms have issued upgraded/overweight ratings with targets as high as $118.
• Sempra beat Q4 EPS estimates ($1.28 vs. $1.12) and raised its quarterly dividend to $0.6575 (annualized $2.63, ~2.8% yield), though the dividend payout ratio stands high at about 95%.

B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG grew its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 20.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 99,085 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 17,140 shares during the quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG's holdings in Sempra Energy were worth $8,783,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Sempra Energy during the third quarter worth $25,000. Activest Wealth Management lifted its stake in Sempra Energy by 74.6% during the third quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 391 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Board of the Pension Protection Fund bought a new position in Sempra Energy during the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC lifted its stake in Sempra Energy by 88.8% during the fourth quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 406 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. lifted its stake in Sempra Energy by 117.4% during the third quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. now owns 424 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 229 shares during the last quarter. 89.65% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley set a $104.00 price objective on Sempra Energy and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Barclays restated an "overweight" rating and set a $105.00 price objective (up from $95.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Argus upgraded Sempra Energy from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Wells Fargo & Company restated an "overweight" rating and set a $118.00 price objective on shares of Sempra Energy in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating and set a $100.00 price objective (up from $96.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $102.67.

Sempra Energy Stock Performance

SRE stock opened at $93.98 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 1.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $61.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.05, a PEG ratio of 3.49 and a beta of 0.67. Sempra Energy has a 1 year low of $72.71 and a 1 year high of $101.04. The stock's fifty day moving average is $95.15 and its two-hundred day moving average is $91.93.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $1.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $3.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.82 billion. Sempra Energy had a return on equity of 8.22% and a net margin of 13.27%.The firm's quarterly revenue was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.50 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Sempra Energy will post 5.11 EPS for the current year.

Sempra Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 19th were issued a dividend of $0.6575 per share. This represents a $2.63 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. This is a positive change from Sempra Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 19th. Sempra Energy's dividend payout ratio is 95.29%.

Insider Activity at Sempra Energy

In other Sempra Energy news, Director Richard J. Mark purchased 2,692 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $93.30 per share, with a total value of $251,163.60. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 17,376 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,621,180.80. This trade represents a 18.33% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Justin Christopher Bird sold 1,128 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.69, for a total value of $109,066.32. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 21,632 shares in the company, valued at $2,091,598.08. This trade represents a 4.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders acquired 6,192 shares of company stock valued at $576,979 and sold 7,539 shares valued at $706,906. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.

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