Bank OZK Purchases New Holdings in Sempra Energy $SRE

Key Points

• Bank OZK acquired 18,182 Sempra Energy shares in the second quarter, valued at approximately $1.69 million. Institutional investors collectively own 89.65% of Sempra’s stock.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with Sempra receiving a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $102, compared with a recent share price of $85.65.
• Sempra reported quarterly EPS of $1.16, exceeding estimates of $1.01, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.6575 per share, representing a 3.1% annualized yield.

Bank OZK purchased a new stake in Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 18,182 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,686,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bell Investment Advisors Inc increased its position in shares of Sempra Energy by 79.5% during the first quarter. Bell Investment Advisors Inc now owns 262 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the period. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in Sempra Energy in the second quarter worth $25,000. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. bought a new position in Sempra Energy in the second quarter worth $27,000. Silvant Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Sempra Energy during the second quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd increased its holdings in Sempra Energy by 57.7% in the 4th quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd now owns 347 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 127 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.65% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Caroline Winn sold 8,000 shares of Sempra Energy stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.55, for a total value of $724,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 25,164 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,278,600.20. The trade was a 24.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.31% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on SRE shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Sempra Energy from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $101.00 to $97.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Sempra Energy from $113.00 to $102.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 2nd. BMO Capital Markets set a $102.00 price objective on Sempra Energy and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Mizuho reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $84.00 target price (down from $104.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a report on Monday, August 31st. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Sempra Energy in a research note on Friday, July 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $102.00.

Sempra Energy Price Performance

Sempra Energy stock traded up $1.61 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $85.65. 3,830,106 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,805,359. The stock has a market capitalization of $56.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 0.55. The business's 50-day moving average is $88.54 and its two-hundred day moving average is $91.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 1.62 and a current ratio of 1.64. Sempra Energy has a 12 month low of $79.15 and a 12 month high of $101.04.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.01 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.14 billion. Sempra Energy had a net margin of 16.70% and a return on equity of 8.49%. Sempra Energy's quarterly revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.89 earnings per share. Sempra Energy has set its FY 2027 guidance at 5.100-5.700 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 4.800-5.300 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Sempra Energy will post 5.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 24th will be paid a $0.6575 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 24th. This represents a $2.63 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. Sempra Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 76.23%.

About Sempra Energy

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding SRE? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.