Sempra Energy $SRE Shares Bought by BNP Paribas Financial Markets

Key Points

• BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in Sempra Energy by 9.0%, owning over 1.5 million shares valued at approximately $110 million after recent purchases.
• Insider trading saw Executive Vice President Caroline Ann Winn sell over 5,100 shares, leading to an 11.49% decrease in her ownership, while other executives also sold shares recently.
• Sempra Energy's latest earnings report showed an EPS of $0.89, surpassing estimates, but revenue dropped 0.4% year-over-year compared to the same quarter last year.

BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its stake in shares of Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 9.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,542,730 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 126,985 shares during the quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets owned approximately 0.24% of Sempra Energy worth $110,089,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in Sempra Energy by 8.4% during 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 in the last quarter. Carrera Capital Advisors lifted its holdings in 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 buying an additional 3,677 shares in the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in 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 buying an additional 7,012 shares in the last quarter. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Sempra Energy during the 1st quarter valued at about $483,000. Finally, Lee Danner & Bass Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy by 81.0% in 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.65% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on SRE. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Sempra Energy from $71.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 26th. Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $80.00 price target (up previously 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, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target 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. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Sempra Energy currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $82.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sempra Energy

In related news, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 1,576 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total transaction of $126,080.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 15,600 shares in the company, valued at $1,248,000. The trade was a 9.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Caroline Ann Winn sold 5,114 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.01, for a total value of $419,399.14. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 39,380 shares in the company, valued at $3,229,553.80. This represents 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.

Sempra Energy Stock Performance

Shares of SRE traded down $0.71 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $82.18. 1,728,857 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,459,514. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $79.28 and a 200-day moving average price of $75.66. Sempra Energy has a 12-month low of $61.90 and a 12-month high of $95.77. The company has a quick ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $53.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.85, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.65.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. Sempra Energy had a return on equity of 8.42% and a net margin of 20.28%.The business had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.35 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.89 earnings per share. The company's revenue was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Sempra Energy will post 4.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.