M&T Bank Corp Buys 442,095 Shares of Sempra Energy $SRE

Key Points

• M&T Bank Corp boosted its stake in Sempra Energy by 2,092.4% in Q4, buying an additional 442,095 shares to hold 463,224 shares (about 0.07% of the company) valued at $40.9 million.
• Sell‑side analysts give Sempra a consensus rating of Moderate Buy with a consensus price target of $102.67, and several firms (Wells Fargo, Morgan Stanley, Barclays) maintain overweight/buy views.
• Sempra increased its quarterly dividend to $0.6575 ($2.63 annualized) for a 2.8% yield, though the dividend payout ratio is high at 95.29%.

M&T Bank Corp boosted its stake in shares of Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 2,092.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 463,224 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 442,095 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp owned approximately 0.07% of Sempra Energy worth $40,898,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Sempra Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Activest Wealth Management increased its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy by 74.6% in the 3rd quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 391 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. Board of the Pension Protection Fund bought a new stake in shares of Sempra Energy in the 4th quarter worth $35,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC increased its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy by 88.8% in the 4th quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 406 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. increased its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy by 117.4% in the 3rd quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. now owns 424 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 229 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.65% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on SRE. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $118.00 target price on shares of Sempra Energy in a report on Tuesday. Wall Street Zen lowered Sempra Energy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Sunday, March 29th. Morgan Stanley set a $104.00 target price on Sempra Energy and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday. Barclays reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $105.00 target price (up from $95.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, Argus raised Sempra Energy from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $102.67.

Sempra Energy Stock Performance

Shares of SRE opened at $92.43 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 1.59 and a quick ratio of 1.57. Sempra Energy has a one year low of $72.56 and a one year high of $101.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $60.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.49, a PEG ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 0.67. The business has a fifty day moving average of $95.12 and a 200 day moving average of $91.92.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $1.28 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.16. Sempra Energy had a return on equity of 8.22% and a net margin of 13.27%.The company had revenue of $3.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.82 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.50 earnings per share. Sempra Energy's revenue was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Sempra Energy will post 5.11 EPS for the current year.

Sempra Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 19th were issued a $0.6575 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 19th. This is an increase from Sempra Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. This represents a $2.63 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. Sempra Energy's dividend payout ratio is presently 95.29%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Dyan Z. Wold sold 1,539 shares of Sempra Energy stock in a transaction on Monday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.38, for a total value of $146,789.82. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 4,633 shares of the company's stock, valued at $441,895.54. The trade was a 24.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Cynthia J. Warner acquired 2,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $92.95 per share, with a total value of $232,375.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 11,275 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,048,011.25. This trade represents a 28.49% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders have purchased 6,192 shares of company stock valued at $576,979 and have sold 7,539 shares valued at $706,906. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Sempra Energy Profile

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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