KBC Group NV Purchases 13,812 Shares of Sempra Energy $SRE

Key Points

• KBC Group NV increased its stake in Sempra Energy by 19.5%, buying 13,812 shares to hold 84,760 shares worth about $7.48 million as of its latest 13F filing.
• Analysts are mostly bullish—several firms raised price targets and assigned "overweight"/buy ratings, and Sempra has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy with an average target of $101.64.
• Sempra recently raised its quarterly dividend to $0.6575 ($2.63 annualized, ~2.8% yield) and reported a quarterly EPS beat of $1.28 versus $1.12 expected, while revenue was slightly down year-over-year.

KBC Group NV boosted its stake in Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 19.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 84,760 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 13,812 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV's holdings in Sempra Energy were worth $7,483,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in Sempra Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Activest Wealth Management lifted its position in Sempra Energy by 74.6% in the 3rd quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 391 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. Board of the Pension Protection Fund bought a new stake in Sempra Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. lifted its position in Sempra Energy by 117.4% in the 3rd quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. now owns 424 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 229 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPL Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Sempra Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at $41,000. 89.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SRE has been the topic of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Sempra Energy from $98.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th. Barclays reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $105.00 price objective (up from $95.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a research report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Sempra Energy from $113.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, March 23rd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Sempra Energy in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $101.00 price objective on shares of Sempra Energy in a research report on Friday, February 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $101.64.

Insider Transactions at Sempra Energy

In other Sempra Energy news, Director Cynthia J. Warner purchased 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $92.95 per share, for a total transaction of $232,375.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 11,275 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,048,011.25. This represents a 28.49% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Richard J. Mark purchased 2,692 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $93.30 per share, for a total transaction of $251,163.60. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 17,376 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,621,180.80. The trade was a 18.33% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders acquired 6,192 shares of company stock worth $576,979 and sold 7,539 shares worth $706,906. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Sempra Energy Stock Down 1.9%

Shares of SRE stock opened at $94.00 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. Sempra Energy has a 1 year low of $69.08 and a 1 year high of $101.04. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $94.91 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $91.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $61.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.06, a PEG ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.67.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $1.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $3.82 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.50 EPS. The company's revenue was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Sempra Energy will post 4.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 19th were paid a $0.6575 dividend. This represents a $2.63 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 19th. This is an increase from Sempra Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. Sempra Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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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