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

Key Points

• B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG increased its holdings in Sempra Energy by 54.5% during the first quarter, owning 64,181 shares worth approximately $4.58 million.
• Multiple institutional investors, including Vanguard Group Inc. and Wellington Management Group LLP, have also raised their stakes in Sempra Energy, indicating strong institutional interest.
• Sempra Energy reported a quarterly EPS of $0.89, exceeding analysts' expectations of $0.82, but experienced a slight revenue decline of 0.4% year-over-year.

B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG boosted its holdings in Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 54.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 64,181 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 22,642 shares during the quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG's holdings in Sempra Energy were worth $4,580,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in Sempra Energy by 8.4% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 173,408 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $12,374,000 after buying an additional 13,433 shares during the period. Carrera Capital Advisors grew its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy by 8.0% during the 1st quarter. Carrera Capital Advisors now owns 49,570 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,569,000 after purchasing an additional 3,677 shares during the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy by 171.2% during the 1st quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 11,107 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $793,000 after purchasing an additional 7,012 shares during the last quarter. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Sempra Energy during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $483,000. Finally, Lee Danner & Bass Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy by 81.0% during the 1st quarter. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. now owns 46,277 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,302,000 after purchasing an additional 20,707 shares during the last quarter. 89.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Sempra Energy Price Performance

Shares of SRE stock traded up $1.05 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $82.49. The stock had a trading volume of 3,485,156 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,517,606. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $79.01 and its 200 day simple moving average is $75.62. The company has a current ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. Sempra Energy has a 12 month low of $61.90 and a 12 month high of $95.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $53.82 billion, a PE ratio of 19.92, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.65.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.35 billion. Sempra Energy had a net margin of 20.28% and a return on equity of 8.42%. Sempra Energy's quarterly revenue was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.89 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Sempra Energy will post 4.76 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Sempra Energy

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on SRE. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Sempra Energy from $71.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 26th. Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating and set a $80.00 price objective (up previously from $70.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a report on Monday, August 4th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Sempra Energy from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Sempra Energy in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Sempra Energy has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $82.33.

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.