Geneos Wealth Management Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Sempra Energy $SRE

Key Points

• Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in Sempra Energy by 13.0%, owning a total of 33,808 shares valued at approximately $2.41 million.
• Other institutional investors have also made significant adjustments, with Wellington Management boosting its holdings by 26.8% during the same period.
• Analysts maintain a positive outlook for Sempra Energy, with an average price target of $81.27, suggesting the potential for continued growth.

Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 13.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 33,808 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 3,891 shares during the quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc.'s holdings in Sempra Energy were worth $2,413,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of SRE. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy by 26.8% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 48,686,047 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,474,236,000 after purchasing an additional 10,278,893 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of Sempra Energy in the 1st quarter worth about $192,130,000. PointState Capital LP purchased a new position in shares of Sempra Energy in the 1st quarter worth about $154,369,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy by 42.7% in the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,647,990 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $331,681,000 after purchasing an additional 1,391,433 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 64,238,102 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $4,584,032,000 after purchasing an additional 1,220,047 shares in the last quarter. 89.65% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SRE has been the subject of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of Sempra Energy in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Barclays increased their target price on Sempra Energy from $71.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 26th. Finally, Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating and set a $80.00 target price (up from $70.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a report on Monday, August 4th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $81.27.

Sempra Energy Trading Up 1.8%

Shares of SRE stock opened at $83.52 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $54.49 billion, a PE ratio of 20.17, a P/E/G ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.65. Sempra Energy has a 1-year low of $61.90 and a 1-year high of $95.77. The business has a 50-day moving average of $80.14 and a 200 day moving average of $75.52. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $3 billion during 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%.Sempra Energy's quarterly revenue was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.89 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Sempra Energy will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Sempra Energy news, EVP Caroline Ann Winn sold 5,114 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 14th. The stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at $3,229,553.80. This represents a 11.49% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 1,576 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total value of $126,080.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly 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.

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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