Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Acquires New Position in Sempra Energy $SRE

Key Points

• Louisiana State Employees Retirement System opened a new position in Sempra Energy during the first quarter, buying 33,300 shares valued at about $3.24 million.
• Sempra reported Q1 earnings of $1.51 per share, matching estimates, but revenue came in below expectations at $3.65 billion versus the $4.10 billion consensus.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.6575 per share, or $2.63 annually, for a 2.8% yield; analysts currently rate the stock Moderate Buy with an average target price of $102.75.

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new position in shares of Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 33,300 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $3,236,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of SRE. Bell Investment Advisors Inc raised its position in shares of Sempra Energy by 79.5% during the 1st quarter. Bell Investment Advisors Inc now owns 262 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the period. Ares Financial Consulting LLC acquired a new position in Sempra Energy during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd boosted its position in Sempra Energy by 57.7% during the 4th quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd now owns 347 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares during the period. Key Financial Inc grew its stake in Sempra Energy by 73.6% during the 4th quarter. Key Financial Inc now owns 361 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in Sempra Energy by 83.0% during the 4th quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 355 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. 89.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Sempra Energy Trading Up 0.8%

NYSE:SRE opened at $94.22 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $61.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.94, a PEG ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a current ratio of 1.69. Sempra Energy has a 1 year low of $73.18 and a 1 year high of $101.04. The business has a fifty day moving average of $91.92 and a 200-day moving average of $91.75.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.51 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.51. The business had revenue of $3.65 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.10 billion. Sempra Energy had a net margin of 14.31% and a return on equity of 8.20%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.44 earnings per share. Sempra Energy has set its FY 2027 guidance at 5.100-5.700 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 4.870-5.370 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Sempra Energy will post 5.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Sempra Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 25th will be paid a $0.6575 dividend. This represents a $2.63 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 25th. Sempra Energy's dividend payout ratio is currently 89.15%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on SRE shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Sempra Energy in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $118.00 price objective on shares of Sempra Energy in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Sempra Energy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, June 13th. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $105.00 target price on shares of Sempra Energy in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on shares of Sempra Energy from $105.00 to $103.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $102.75.

Insider Activity at Sempra Energy

In other news, Director Pablo Ferrero sold 2,600 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.53, for a total value of $232,778.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 15,423 shares in the company, valued at $1,380,821.19. This trade represents a 14.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Diana L. Day sold 3,300 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.13, for a total value of $304,029.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 22,870 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,107,013.10. The trade was a 12.61% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 15,028 shares of company stock valued at $1,370,273. Insiders own 0.31% of the company's stock.

About Sempra Energy

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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