CIBC Asset Management Inc Boosts Stock Position in Sempra Energy $SRE

Key Points

• CIBC Asset Management increased its Sempra Energy stake by 61.2% in the fourth quarter, ending with 166,465 shares valued at about $14.7 million.
• Wall Street sentiment is broadly positive on Sempra, with a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $102.67. Several firms recently reiterated or raised targets, including JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley, and BMO Capital Markets.
• Sempra reported Q1 EPS of $1.51, matching estimates, while revenue came in below expectations at $3.66 billion. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.6575 per share, implying a 2.9% annual yield.

CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 61.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 166,465 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 63,226 shares during the quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc's holdings in Sempra Energy were worth $14,697,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Ares Financial Consulting LLC purchased a new position in Sempra Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Sempra Energy by 83.0% during the fourth 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. Key Financial Inc lifted 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 buying an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. Board of the Pension Protection Fund acquired a new position in shares of Sempra Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Salomon & Ludwin LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy by 88.8% in the 4th quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 406 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 191 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.65% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SRE has been the topic of several research analyst reports. UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $100.00 price target (up from $96.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Argus upgraded shares of Sempra Energy from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Sempra Energy from $98.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 18th. Morgan Stanley set a $104.00 target price on Sempra Energy and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on Sempra Energy from $105.00 to $103.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Sempra Energy presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $102.67.

Sempra Energy Stock Performance

NYSE:SRE opened at $90.30 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.69 and a quick ratio of 1.66. The firm has a market cap of $59.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.38 and a beta of 0.56. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $93.75 and its 200 day moving average price is $91.80. Sempra Energy has a 1-year low of $73.06 and a 1-year high of $101.04.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.51 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.51. The company had revenue of $3.66 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.10 billion. Sempra Energy had a net margin of 14.31% and a return on equity of 8.20%. Sempra Energy's quarterly revenue was down 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.44 EPS. 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. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Sempra Energy will post 5.11 EPS for the current year.

Sempra Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 25th will be given a $0.6575 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 25th. This represents a $2.63 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. Sempra Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 89.15%.

Insider Transactions at Sempra Energy

In other Sempra Energy news, Director Jennifer M. Kirk acquired 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 12th. The shares were bought at an average price of $93.44 per share, with a total value of $93,440.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 1,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $93,440. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Diana L. Day sold 3,300 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.13, for a total value of $304,029.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 22,870 shares in the company, valued at $2,107,013.10. The trade was a 12.61% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders have acquired 6,192 shares of company stock valued at $576,979 and have sold 13,439 shares valued at $1,243,713. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Sempra Energy 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.

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.