Mizuho Securities USA LLC Has $3.62 Million Stock Position in Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE)

Key Points

• Mizuho Securities USA LLC reduced its stake in Sempra Energy by 15.5%, now holding 50,716 shares valued at approximately $3.62 million.
• Sempra Energy's stock is currently priced at $81.74, with a market capitalization of $53.33 billion, and analysts project it will achieve 4.76 EPS for the current year.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.645 per share, yielding 3.2% annually, with a dividend payout ratio of 56.70%.

Mizuho Securities USA LLC trimmed its position in shares of Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 15.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 50,716 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 9,316 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities USA LLC's holdings in Sempra Energy were worth $3,619,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mattson Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in Sempra Energy during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Sempra Energy in the 1st quarter valued at about $38,000. Park Square Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Sempra Energy during the 4th quarter valued at about $41,000. Eastern Bank increased its stake in Sempra Energy by 73.7% during the 1st quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 580 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 246 shares during the period. Finally, Cary Street Partners Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sempra Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $56,000. 89.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Sempra Energy

In other news, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 1,576 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total value of $126,080.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 15,600 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,248,000. The trade was a 9.18% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.27% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Sempra Energy Stock Performance

SRE stock traded down $0.23 on Thursday, reaching $81.99. 2,774,675 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,570,804. Sempra Energy has a 12 month low of $61.90 and a 12 month high of $95.77. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $77.34 and its 200 day moving average price is $75.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $53.50 billion, a PE ratio of 19.80, a PEG ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.48 and a quick ratio of 0.41.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.35 billion. Sempra Energy had a net margin of 20.28% and a return on equity of 8.42%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.89 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Sempra Energy will post 4.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SRE has been the topic of several recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Sempra Energy from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and set a $88.00 price target (up from $87.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Citigroup reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $80.00 target price (up from $70.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Sempra Energy from $72.00 to $71.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $81.58.

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.