Franklin Resources Inc. Acquires 1,014,779 Shares of Sempra Energy $SRE

Key Points

• Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in Sempra Energy by 12.0%, buying 1,014,779 shares to hold 9,463,947 shares (1.45% of the company) worth about $851.6 million at quarter-end.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed-to-positive with a MarketBeat consensus of "Moderate Buy" and an average target of $100, as firms like Wells Fargo and Argus recently raised ratings or price targets.
• Sempra raised its quarterly dividend to $0.6575 (annualized $2.63, 2.8% yield) and reported an EPS beat for the quarter, while insider ownership remains low after the CFO sold shares (insiders own 0.27%).

Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 12.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,463,947 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 1,014,779 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned 1.45% of Sempra Energy worth $851,566,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SRE. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Sempra Energy by 14.2% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 75,725,594 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $6,813,784,000 after acquiring an additional 9,396,652 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors lifted its position in shares of Sempra Energy by 9.2% during the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 54,071,206 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $4,865,115,000 after purchasing an additional 4,572,312 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Sempra Energy by 3.7% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 34,380,068 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,626,827,000 after purchasing an additional 1,214,931 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Sempra Energy by 3.9% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,036,572 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,058,214,000 after purchasing an additional 525,750 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of Sempra Energy by 106.3% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 10,428,007 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $938,325,000 after purchasing an additional 5,374,277 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.65% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on SRE. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Sempra Energy from $112.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Argus upgraded Sempra Energy from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Wall Street Zen cut Sempra Energy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday. Barclays set a $95.00 target price on Sempra Energy and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $99.00 price target (up from $80.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a research note on Monday, November 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $100.00.

Insider Activity at Sempra Energy

In related news, CFO Karen L. Sedgwick sold 4,872 shares of Sempra Energy stock in a transaction on Monday, March 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.58, for a total transaction of $451,049.76. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 39,029 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,613,304.82. The trade was a 11.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Sempra Energy Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of NYSE SRE opened at $92.97 on Wednesday. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $90.45 and its 200 day simple moving average is $89.43. Sempra Energy has a fifty-two week low of $61.90 and a fifty-two week high of $97.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $60.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.69, a P/E/G ratio of 3.50 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 1.59 and a quick ratio of 1.57.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $1.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.16. Sempra Energy had a net margin of 13.27% and a return on equity of 8.22%. The firm had revenue of $3.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.82 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.50 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was down .2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Sempra Energy will post 4.76 EPS for the current year.

Sempra Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 19th will be given a $0.6575 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 19th. This represents a $2.63 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. This is an increase from Sempra Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. Sempra Energy's dividend payout ratio is 95.29%.

Sempra Energy Company 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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