Empowered Funds LLC Grows Position in Sempra Energy $SRE

Key Points

• Empowered Funds LLC increased its Sempra Energy position by 41% in the first quarter, bringing its holdings to 54,979 shares valued at approximately $5.34 million. Institutional investors collectively own 89.65% of SRE.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $104.23, above the stock’s reported price of $88.71.
• Sempra matched quarterly earnings expectations at $1.51 per share, though revenue declined 3.9% year over year to $3.65 billion. The company pays a quarterly dividend of $0.6575 per share, representing an annualized yield of about 3.0%.

Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in shares of Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 41.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 54,979 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 15,987 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC's holdings in Sempra Energy were worth $5,342,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SRE. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy by 12.1% during the 1st quarter. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC now owns 1,040 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $101,000 after buying an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. Bell Investment Advisors Inc boosted its stake in Sempra Energy by 79.5% during the first quarter. Bell Investment Advisors Inc now owns 262 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd grew its holdings in Sempra Energy by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd now owns 35,009 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,091,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares during the period. Rothschild Investment LLC increased its stake in shares of Sempra Energy by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 3,666 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $324,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd increased its stake 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 in the last quarter. 89.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SRE has been the topic of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $108.00 price target on shares of Sempra Energy in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Sempra Energy in a research note on Friday, July 17th. BMO Capital Markets set a $102.00 target price on Sempra Energy and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Barclays cut their target price on Sempra Energy from $105.00 to $103.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company restated an "overweight" rating and set a $118.00 price target on shares of Sempra Energy in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Sempra Energy has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $104.23.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Diana L. Day sold 3,300 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.13, for a total transaction of $304,029.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 22,870 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,107,013.10. This trade represents a 12.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Caroline Ann Winn sold 8,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.55, for a total value of $724,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 25,164 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,278,600.20. This trade represents a 24.12% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 13,900 shares of company stock valued at $1,261,207 over the last ninety days. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Sempra Energy Trading Down 1.0%

NYSE:SRE opened at $88.71 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $57.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.07, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a quick ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 1.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. The company's 50 day moving average price is $91.77 and its 200-day moving average price is $92.49. Sempra Energy has a 52 week low of $78.97 and a 52 week 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 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.51. The company had revenue of $3.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.10 billion. Sempra Energy had a net margin of 14.31% and a return on equity of 8.20%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business 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, equities research analysts forecast that Sempra Energy will post 5.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 25th were issued a dividend of $0.6575 per share. This represents a $2.63 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 25th. Sempra Energy's dividend payout ratio is presently 89.15%.

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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