Magnetar Financial LLC Acquires New Shares in Sempra Energy $SRE

Key Points

• Magnetar Financial LLC has acquired 6,359 shares of Sempra Energy for approximately $454,000 during the 1st quarter, marking a significant investment in the utility provider.
• Sempra Energy's recent quarterly earnings showed an EPS of $0.89, exceeding analysts' expectations, although the revenue of $3 billion was slightly below the consensus estimate.
• Analysts maintain a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" for Sempra Energy, with a price target of $82.33, reflecting a positive outlook despite mixed quarterly results.

Magnetar Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 6,359 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $454,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SRE. MJP Associates Inc. ADV grew its stake in Sempra Energy by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. MJP Associates Inc. ADV now owns 6,195 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $543,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. raised its position in shares of Sempra Energy by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 8,169 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $583,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised its position in shares of Sempra Energy by 5.0% during the 1st quarter. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft now owns 2,988 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $211,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Sempra Energy by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC now owns 11,334 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $809,000 after acquiring an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wesbanco Bank Inc. increased its position in Sempra Energy by 5.1% in the first quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 3,212 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $229,000 after buying an additional 156 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.65% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on SRE shares. Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $80.00 price target (up previously from $70.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a research note on Monday, August 4th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Sempra Energy from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Sempra Energy in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on Sempra Energy from $71.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 26th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $82.33.

Sempra Energy Price Performance

SRE traded down $0.66 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $82.24. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,238,215 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,299,674. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $79.43 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $75.70. 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 12 month low of $61.90 and a 12 month high of $95.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $53.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.65.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.35 billion. Sempra Energy had a return on equity of 8.42% and a net margin of 20.28%.The business's revenue for the quarter was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.89 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Sempra Energy will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Sempra Energy

In related news, EVP Caroline Ann Winn sold 5,114 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 39,380 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,229,553.80. This represents a 11.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 1,576 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total value of $126,080.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 15,600 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,248,000. This represents a 9.18% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate 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.