Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC Has $43.94 Million Stock Position in Sempra Energy $SRE

Key Points

• Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Sempra Energy by 92.0%, acquiring 295,047 shares during the 1st quarter, totaling approximately $43.9 million.
• Insider transactions show a decrease in stock positions, with SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque selling 1,576 shares, while EVP Caroline Ann Winn sold 5,114 shares recently.
• Analysts have varied ratings on Sempra Energy, with the consensus classified as a "Moderate Buy" and a target price averaging $81.58, signaling mixed investor sentiment.

Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC grew its position in Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 92.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 615,783 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 295,047 shares during the period. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC owned about 0.09% of Sempra Energy worth $43,942,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Sempra Energy by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 8,194 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $719,000 after buying an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. MJP Associates Inc. ADV lifted its position in shares of Sempra Energy by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. MJP Associates Inc. ADV now owns 6,195 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $543,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Sempra Energy by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 8,169 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $583,000 after acquiring an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised its position in shares of Sempra Energy by 5.0% during the first quarter. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft now owns 2,988 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $211,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares during the period. Finally, Applied Finance Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Sempra Energy by 1.3% during the first quarter. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC now owns 11,334 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $809,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares during the period. 89.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $80.00 price target (up previously from $70.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a research note on Monday, August 4th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Sempra Energy from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $88.00 target price (up previously from $87.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on Sempra Energy from $72.00 to $71.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $81.58.

Insider Activity at Sempra Energy

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

Sempra Energy Stock Performance

Sempra Energy stock traded up $1.6450 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $82.6350. 2,769,901 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,541,492. Sempra Energy has a 12 month low of $61.90 and a 12 month high of $95.77. The company has a current ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $77.68 and a 200 day moving average of $75.64. The firm has a market cap of $53.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.96, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.62.

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

About Sempra Energy

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.