Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. Invests $44.81 Million in Sempra Energy $SRE

Key Points

• Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. has made a new investment in Sempra Energy, acquiring 627,929 shares valued at approximately $44.8 million, representing 0.10% ownership.
• Other institutional investors also increased their holdings in Sempra Energy, with Vanguard Group raising its position by 1.9% and Wellington Management Group increasing by 26.8% in the first quarter.
• Sempra Energy reported quarterly earnings of $0.89 per share, exceeding analysts' expectations, despite a slight decrease in revenue compared to the previous year.

Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm purchased 627,929 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $44,809,000. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. owned approximately 0.10% of Sempra Energy at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in SRE. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of Sempra Energy by 26.8% during 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 stake in shares of Sempra Energy during the 1st quarter worth about $192,130,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its stake in shares of Sempra Energy by 71.3% in the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 4,651,923 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $408,069,000 after acquiring an additional 1,936,865 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake 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 valued at $331,681,000 after acquiring an additional 1,391,433 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake 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 valued at $4,584,032,000 after acquiring an additional 1,220,047 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 a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $80.00 price objective (up from $70.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Sempra Energy in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on Sempra Energy from $71.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 26th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $82.33.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 1,576 shares of Sempra Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total value of $126,080.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 15,600 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,248,000. This trade represents a 9.18% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Caroline Ann Winn sold 5,114 shares of Sempra Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.01, for a total value of $419,399.14. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 39,380 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,229,553.80. This represents a 11.49% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

Sempra Energy Trading Up 1.0%

Sempra Energy stock traded up $0.83 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $82.84. The stock had a trading volume of 1,921,835 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,442,515. Sempra Energy has a 12 month low of $61.90 and a 12 month high of $95.77. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $79.98 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $75.55. The company has a current ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $54.05 billion, a PE ratio of 20.01, a P/E/G ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.65.

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

Sempra Energy 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.