Jennison Associates LLC Has $190.39 Million Position in Sempra Energy $SRE

Key Points

• Jennison Associates reduced its stake in Sempra Energy by 1.8% to 2,156,356 shares worth $190.39 million, representing about 0.33% of the company, while institutional investors own roughly 89.65% of SRE.
• Analysts' consensus is a “Moderate Buy” with an average price target of $102.67, and several firms have recently raised price targets or maintain Buy/Overweight ratings.
• Sempra beat quarterly EPS estimates ($1.28 vs. $1.12) but slightly missed revenue expectations, raised its quarterly dividend to $0.6575 (annualized $2.63, ~2.8% yield) with a high payout ratio (~95%), and insiders' recent trades are mixed (director bought 1,000 shares; CAO sold 1,539).

Jennison Associates LLC lowered its position in shares of Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 1.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 2,156,356 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 40,488 shares during the quarter. Jennison Associates LLC owned 0.33% of Sempra Energy worth $190,385,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Keybank National Association OH grew its holdings in Sempra Energy by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 33,198 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,931,000 after purchasing an additional 617 shares during the period. United Community Bank grew its holdings in Sempra Energy by 33.5% during the fourth quarter. United Community Bank now owns 789 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $70,000 after purchasing an additional 198 shares during the period. KTF Investments LLC acquired a new position in Sempra Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $358,000. Wealthfront Advisers LLC grew its holdings in Sempra Energy by 7.4% during the fourth quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 37,422 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,304,000 after purchasing an additional 2,585 shares during the period. Finally, Ares Financial Consulting LLC acquired a new position in Sempra Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.65% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Sempra Energy news, Director Jennifer M. Kirk acquired 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 12th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $93.44 per share, with a total value of $93,440.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 1,000 shares in the company, valued at $93,440. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Dyan Z. Wold sold 1,539 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.38, for a total transaction of $146,789.82. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 4,633 shares in the company, valued at approximately $441,895.54. This represents a 24.94% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have purchased 6,192 shares of company stock valued at $576,979 and have sold 7,539 shares valued at $706,906. Company insiders own 0.31% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SRE has been the topic of a number of research reports. UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $100.00 price target (up from $96.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Truist Financial set a $108.00 price target on shares of Sempra Energy and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Sempra Energy from $98.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 18th. Morgan Stanley set a $104.00 price target on shares of Sempra Energy and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Sempra Energy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Sunday, March 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Sempra Energy currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $102.67.

Sempra Energy Stock Performance

Shares of SRE opened at $93.84 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 1.59. Sempra Energy has a twelve month low of $73.06 and a twelve month high of $101.04. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $95.09 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $91.94. The firm has a market cap of $61.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.00, a PEG ratio of 3.50 and a beta of 0.67.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $1.28 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $3.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.82 billion. Sempra Energy had a net margin of 13.27% and a return on equity of 8.22%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.50 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Sempra Energy will post 5.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 19th were given a $0.6575 dividend. This is a boost from Sempra Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. This represents a $2.63 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 19th. Sempra Energy's payout ratio is presently 95.29%.

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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