MBB Public Markets I LLC Purchases New Stake in Sempra Energy $SRE

Key Points

• MBB Public Markets I LLC has made a new investment in Sempra Energy, acquiring 4,543 shares valued at approximately $324,000.
• Several institutional investors have increased their stakes in Sempra Energy during the first quarter, with Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raising its stake by 8.4%, while Merit Financial Group LLC boosted its ownership by 171.2%.
• Sempra Energy reported earnings per share of $0.89 for the latest quarter, exceeding analyst expectations, although revenue decreased by 0.4% year-over-year.

MBB Public Markets I LLC purchased a new stake in Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 4,543 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $324,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Sempra Energy during the fourth quarter worth approximately $56,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its position in Sempra Energy by 71.3% during the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 4,651,923 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $408,069,000 after acquiring an additional 1,936,865 shares during the last quarter. Investor s Fiduciary Advisor Network LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sempra Energy in the fourth quarter worth approximately $452,000. Interval Partners LP acquired a new stake in Sempra Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $3,460,000. Finally, Lionshead Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Sempra Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $346,000. 89.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Sempra Energy Stock Performance

Shares of SRE stock traded up $0.49 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $83.96. 3,204,840 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,453,351. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $80.14 and a 200-day moving average price of $75.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $54.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.65. 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 fifty-two week low of $61.90 and a fifty-two week high of $95.77.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.35 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.89 earnings per share. Sempra Energy's quarterly revenue was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Sempra Energy will post 4.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Sempra Energy news, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 1,576 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 15,600 shares in the company, valued at $1,248,000. This trade represents a 9.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Caroline Ann Winn sold 5,114 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.01, for a total transaction of $419,399.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 39,380 shares in the company, valued at $3,229,553.80. The trade was a 11.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.27% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SRE has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating and set a $80.00 price objective (up previously from $70.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of 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, Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Sempra Energy in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $81.27.

Sempra Energy Profile

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.