Capital International Investors Sells 2,293,503 Shares of Sempra Energy $SRE

Key Points

• Capital International Investors reduced its Sempra Energy stake by 4.2% in the fourth quarter, selling 2,293,503 shares and still holding about 7.93% of the company. Institutional ownership remains high at 89.65%.
• Recent insider activity was mostly sales, including trades by CFO Karen L. Sedgwick and Director Pablo Ferrero. Over the past three months, insiders sold more shares than they bought.
• Analysts remain cautiously positive on Sempra, with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $102.67. The stock recently traded at $91.51, while the company also reaffirmed EPS guidance and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.6575 per share.

Capital International Investors cut its stake in Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 4.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 51,777,703 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 2,293,503 shares during the period. Capital International Investors owned approximately 7.93% of Sempra Energy worth $4,572,074,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in SRE. Ares Financial Consulting LLC bought a new position in shares of Sempra Energy during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Key Financial Inc increased its position in shares of Sempra Energy by 73.6% during the 4th quarter. Key Financial Inc now owns 361 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Sempra Energy by 83.0% during the 4th quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 355 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. Board of the Pension Protection Fund acquired a new stake in shares of Sempra Energy during the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Salomon & Ludwin LLC increased its position in shares of Sempra Energy by 88.8% during the 4th quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 406 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares in the last quarter. 89.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sempra Energy

In other news, CFO Karen L. Sedgwick sold 4,872 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.58, for a total value of $451,049.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 39,029 shares in the company, valued at $3,613,304.82. This trade represents a 11.10% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Pablo Ferrero sold 2,600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.53, for a total value of $232,778.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 15,423 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,380,821.19. The trade was a 14.43% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders have acquired 6,192 shares of company stock valued at $576,979 and have sold 13,439 shares valued at $1,243,713. Company insiders own 0.31% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on SRE. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Sempra Energy from $98.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Sempra Energy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Sunday, May 10th. Truist Financial set a $104.00 price objective on shares of Sempra Energy and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Sempra Energy in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Barclays restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $105.00 price objective (up from $95.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $102.67.

Sempra Energy Stock Up 1.3%

Sempra Energy stock opened at $91.51 on Friday. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $93.68 and its 200 day simple moving average is $91.80. Sempra Energy has a fifty-two week low of $73.06 and a fifty-two week high of $101.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $59.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.02, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.69 and a quick ratio of 1.66.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.51 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.51. Sempra Energy had a net margin of 14.31% and a return on equity of 8.20%. The business had revenue of $3.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.10 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.44 EPS. Sempra Energy's quarterly revenue was down 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sempra Energy has set its FY 2027 guidance at 5.100-5.700 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 4.870-5.370 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Sempra Energy will post 5.11 EPS for the current year.

Sempra Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 25th will be issued a dividend of $0.6575 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 25th. This represents a $2.63 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. Sempra Energy's dividend payout ratio is presently 89.15%.

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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