KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Boosts Stock Holdings in Sempra Energy $SRE

Key Points

• KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS increased its stake in Sempra Energy by 2.2%, acquiring an additional 11,000 shares, resulting in a total ownership of 513,024 shares valued at $39,155,000.
• Sempra Energy reported earnings per share (EPS) of $0.89 for the last quarter, surpassing estimates by $0.07, despite a year-over-year revenue decline of 0.4%.
• The company has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.645, with a 2.8% yield, payable on October 15th to shareholders on record as of October 1st.

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS lifted its stake in shares of Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 2.2% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 513,024 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 11,000 shares during the quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS owned 0.08% of Sempra Energy worth $39,155,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of SRE. Merit Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of Sempra Energy by 171.2% during the first quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 11,107 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $793,000 after acquiring an additional 7,012 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in Sempra Energy by 4.0% in the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 13,911 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $993,000 after buying an additional 530 shares during the last quarter. Werlinich Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Sempra Energy by 9.7% in the first quarter. Werlinich Asset Management LLC now owns 56,300 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $4,018,000 after buying an additional 5,000 shares during the last quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. increased its holdings in Sempra Energy by 5.1% in the first quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 3,212 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $229,000 after buying an additional 156 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Sempra Energy by 65.1% in the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 5,191 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $371,000 after buying an additional 2,046 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.65% of the company's stock.

Sempra Energy Stock Performance

NYSE SRE opened at $92.41 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. Sempra Energy has a 52-week low of $61.90 and a 52-week high of $95.77. The business's 50-day moving average price is $83.44 and its 200 day moving average price is $77.52. The firm has a market cap of $60.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.32, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.66.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 last year, the company posted $0.89 earnings per share. The business's revenue was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Sempra Energy will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Sempra Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 1st will be given a $0.645 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 1st. This represents a $2.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. Sempra Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.32%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Sempra Energy from $88.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, September 25th. 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. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Sempra Energy in a report on Saturday, September 27th. Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $80.00 target price (up previously from $70.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Evercore ISI set a $105.00 target price on Sempra Energy and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $86.09.

Insider Activity at Sempra Energy

In related news, EVP Caroline Ann Winn sold 5,114 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 39,380 shares in the company, valued at $3,229,553.80. This trade represents a 11.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Kevin C. Sagara sold 14,433 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.50, for a total transaction of $1,291,753.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 1,042 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $93,259. The trade was a 93.27% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 49,987 shares of company stock worth $4,267,870 over the last 90 days. 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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