Cohen & Steers Inc. Decreases Position in Sempra Energy $SRE

Key Points

• Cohen & Steers Inc. reduced its Sempra Energy stake by 4.3% in the fourth quarter, selling 145,027 shares and leaving it with 3.26 million shares worth about $287.7 million.
• Insider selling has continued at Sempra, including director Pablo Ferrero and EVP Justin Christopher Bird, with insiders selling 8,567 shares worth $792,663 over the last three months.
• Sempra reported mixed quarterly results, matching EPS expectations at $1.51 but missing revenue estimates, while also maintaining a quarterly dividend of $0.6575 per share for a 2.8% yield.

Cohen & Steers Inc. cut its position in Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 4.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 3,258,074 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 145,027 shares during the period. Cohen & Steers Inc. owned approximately 0.50% of Sempra Energy worth $287,655,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Ares Financial Consulting LLC purchased a new position in Sempra Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy by 57.7% during the fourth quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd now owns 347 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. Key Financial Inc raised its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy by 73.6% during the fourth quarter. Key Financial Inc now owns 361 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Board of the Pension Protection Fund purchased a new position in shares of Sempra Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. 89.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Sempra Energy

In related news, Director Pablo Ferrero sold 2,600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.53, for a total transaction of $232,778.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 15,423 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,380,821.19. This represents a 14.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Justin Christopher Bird sold 1,128 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.69, for a total transaction of $109,066.32. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 21,632 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,091,598.08. This trade represents a 4.96% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 8,567 shares of company stock worth $792,663 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.31% of the company's stock.

Sempra Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SRE opened at $92.37 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a current ratio of 1.69. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $93.13 and a 200 day moving average price of $91.77. 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 cap of $60.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.31, a P/E/G ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 0.56.

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

Sempra Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 25th will be given a dividend of $0.6575 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 25th. This represents a $2.63 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. Sempra Energy's dividend payout ratio is currently 89.15%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on SRE. Truist Financial set a $104.00 price objective on shares of Sempra Energy and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 18th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on shares of Sempra Energy from $105.00 to $103.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 11th. Argus raised shares of Sempra Energy from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Sempra Energy in a report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Sempra Energy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $102.67.

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.

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