Jones Financial Companies Lllp Purchases 42,058 Shares of Sempra Energy $SRE

Key Points

• Jones Financial Companies Lllp significantly increased its stake in Sempra Energy by 609.1%, acquiring 42,058 additional shares, bringing its total holdings to 48,963 shares valued at approximately $3.49 million.
• Recently, several large institutional investors, including Eastern Bank and Pingora Partners LLC, also modified their positions, indicating strong institutional interest as 89.65% of Sempra Energy's stock is owned by institutional investors.
• Sempra Energy's stock climbed 2.0% recently, opening at $81.96, with analysts forecasting an average target price of $82.33 and a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy."

Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its position in shares of Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 609.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 48,963 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 42,058 shares during the quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp's holdings in Sempra Energy were worth $3,494,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Mattson Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in Sempra Energy during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Pingora Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Sempra Energy by 48.3% during the 1st quarter. Pingora Partners LLC now owns 430 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Park Square Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Sempra Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $41,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Sempra Energy in the first quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Eastern Bank lifted its stake in Sempra Energy by 73.7% during the first quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 580 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 246 shares during the period. 89.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Sempra Energy Stock Up 2.0%

NYSE SRE opened at $81.96 on Thursday. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $79.98 and its 200 day simple moving average is $75.55. 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 $53.48 billion, a PE ratio of 19.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.55 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 data on Thursday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.07. Sempra Energy had a net margin of 20.28% and a return on equity of 8.42%. 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 earned $0.89 EPS. The company's revenue was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Sempra Energy will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on SRE. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of Sempra Energy in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Barclays boosted their price target on Sempra Energy from $71.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 26th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $80.00 price objective (up from $70.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Sempra Energy currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $82.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Caroline Ann Winn sold 5,114 shares of Sempra Energy stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 14th. The stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,229,553.80. This trade represents a 11.49% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 1,576 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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. The trade was a 9.18% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

About Sempra Energy

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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