Capital International Inc. CA Has $72.84 Million Stock Position in Sempra Energy $SRE

Key Points

• Capital International Inc. CA increased its stake in Sempra Energy by 26.1% in Q3 to 809,472 shares, a position worth approximately $72.84 million (about 0.12% of the company).
• Sempra has a MarketBeat consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with a consensus target price of $100, backed by a mix of analyst actions (one Strong Buy, seven Buy, four Hold and some recent upgrades and cuts).
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.6575 (annualized $2.63, yield ~2.8%), with an ex-dividend date of March 19 and a dividend payout ratio of 93.48%.

Capital International Inc. CA boosted its position in shares of Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 26.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 809,472 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 167,619 shares during the quarter. Capital International Inc. CA owned about 0.12% of Sempra Energy worth $72,836,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SRE. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Sempra Energy by 19.4% in the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 85,334 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $7,678,000 after purchasing an additional 13,864 shares during the period. Westerkirk Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Sempra Energy during the second quarter worth $3,091,000. Amundi increased its holdings in Sempra Energy by 20.8% in the second quarter. Amundi now owns 1,903,624 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $142,429,000 after purchasing an additional 327,154 shares during the last quarter. North Star Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Sempra Energy in the second quarter valued at about $212,000. Finally, Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund lifted its stake in Sempra Energy by 32.6% in the third quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 74,620 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $6,714,000 after buying an additional 18,359 shares during the period. 89.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on SRE shares. Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating and set a $99.00 price objective (up from $80.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a report on Monday, November 24th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Sempra Energy from $112.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Argus raised shares of Sempra Energy from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $101.00 price target on shares of Sempra Energy in a report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Sempra Energy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $100.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Karen L. Sedgwick sold 4,872 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.58, for a total transaction of $451,049.76. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 39,029 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,613,304.82. The trade was a 11.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

Sempra Energy Price Performance

NYSE:SRE opened at $93.49 on Tuesday. Sempra Energy has a 52-week low of $61.90 and a 52-week high of $97.44. The company has a market cap of $61.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.87, a P/E/G ratio of 3.47 and a beta of 0.73. 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's 50-day simple moving average is $90.37 and its 200 day simple moving average is $89.36.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $1.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $3.75 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.82 billion. Sempra Energy had a return on equity of 8.22% and a net margin of 13.27%.The business's revenue was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.50 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Sempra Energy will post 4.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 19th will be paid a $0.6575 dividend. This is a boost from Sempra Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. This represents a $2.63 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 19th. Sempra Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 93.48%.

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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