Comerica Bank Has $11.95 Million Position in Sempra Energy $SRE

Key Points

• Comerica Bank reduced its stake in Sempra Energy by 12.5%, selling 23,988 shares, which brought its holdings down to 167,387 shares valued at approximately $11.9 million.
• Sempra Energy reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $0.89 for the quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations of $0.82, but its revenue of $3 billion fell short of the forecast of $3.35 billion.
• Analyst ratings for Sempra Energy show a consensus of "Moderate Buy" with a target price of $82.33, and seven analysts giving it a Buy rating.

Comerica Bank reduced its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 12.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 167,387 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 23,988 shares during the period. Comerica Bank's holdings in Sempra Energy were worth $11,945,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in SRE. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Sempra Energy by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 8,194 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $719,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. Capital Analysts LLC boosted its position in Sempra Energy by 61.1% in the fourth quarter. Capital Analysts LLC now owns 857 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $75,000 after buying an additional 325 shares in the last quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Sempra Energy by 20.4% in the fourth quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 8,572 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $752,000 after buying an additional 1,455 shares in the last quarter. Boothbay Fund Management LLC acquired a new position in Sempra Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $206,000. Finally, Quarry LP boosted its position in Sempra Energy by 329.5% in the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,035 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $91,000 after buying an additional 794 shares in the last quarter. 89.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sempra Energy

In related news, EVP Caroline Ann Winn sold 5,114 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 39,380 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,229,553.80. This represents a 11.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 1,576 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total transaction of $126,080.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 15,600 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,248,000. The trade was a 9.18% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on SRE shares. Citigroup reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $80.00 target price (up from $70.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Sempra Energy in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Sempra Energy from $71.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Sempra Energy from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $82.33.

Sempra Energy Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of Sempra Energy stock traded up $1.05 on Friday, hitting $82.49. The company had a trading volume of 3,485,156 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,476,431. The firm has a market capitalization of $53.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.92, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.62. Sempra Energy has a twelve month low of $61.90 and a twelve month high of $95.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.48 and a quick ratio of 0.41. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $79.01 and a 200-day moving average of $75.73.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.07. Sempra Energy had a net margin of 20.28% and a return on equity of 8.42%. The business had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.35 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.89 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict 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.