First Hawaiian Bank Has $1 Million Stake in Sempra Energy $SRE

Key Points

• First Hawaiian Bank reduced its stake in Sempra Energy by 33.6%, now holding shares worth $1 million.
• Several hedge funds increased their positions in Sempra Energy, with notable increases from Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services and Merit Financial Group.
• Analysts rate Sempra Energy's stock as a "Moderate Buy," with a consensus target price of $81.27 after recent upgrades from firms like Citigroup and Barclays.

First Hawaiian Bank lessened its position in Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 33.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,046 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 7,098 shares during the period. First Hawaiian Bank's holdings in Sempra Energy were worth $1,002,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in SRE. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in Sempra Energy by 8.4% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 173,408 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $12,374,000 after buying an additional 13,433 shares during the last quarter. Carrera Capital Advisors increased its position in Sempra Energy by 8.0% in the 1st quarter. Carrera Capital Advisors now owns 49,570 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,569,000 after acquiring an additional 3,677 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Sempra Energy by 171.2% during the first quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 11,107 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $793,000 after acquiring an additional 7,012 shares during the last quarter. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy by 53.2% during the first quarter. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. now owns 57,000 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $4,068,000 after purchasing an additional 19,800 shares during the period. Finally, Bridgewater Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Sempra Energy in the first quarter worth $483,000. 89.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on SRE. Citigroup reaffirmed 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. Barclays raised their price objective on Sempra Energy from $71.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of Sempra Energy in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $81.27.

Sempra Energy Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of Sempra Energy stock opened at $83.96 on Friday. The stock's 50-day moving average is $80.31 and its 200 day moving average is $75.63. Sempra Energy has a one year low of $61.90 and a one year high of $95.77. The firm has a market cap of $54.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.28, a PEG ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.48 and a quick ratio of 0.41.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.35 billion. Sempra Energy had a return on equity of 8.42% and a net margin of 20.28%.The company's revenue was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.89 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Sempra Energy will post 4.76 EPS for the current year.

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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 39,380 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,229,553.80. This represents a 11.49% 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 the SEC website. Also, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 1,576 shares of Sempra Energy stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total transaction of $126,080.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 15,600 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,248,000. This trade represents a 9.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.27% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Sempra Energy Company Profile

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.

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