Munich Reinsurance Co Stock Corp in Munich Invests $69.26 Million in Sempra Energy $SRE

Key Points

• Munich Reinsurance Co Stock Corp in Munich bought 769,749 shares of Sempra Energy in Q3 worth about $69.26 million, representing roughly 1.7% of Munich Re's holdings and about 0.12% of Sempra's shares.
• Sempra beat quarterly EPS expectations with $1.28, raised its quarterly dividend to $0.6575 (annualized $2.63, ~2.8% yield), and carries a consensus analyst rating of "Moderate Buy" with a $100 target.

Munich Reinsurance Co Stock Corp in Munich bought a new stake in Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 769,749 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $69,262,000. Sempra Energy makes up about 1.7% of Munich Reinsurance Co Stock Corp in Munich's holdings, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. Munich Reinsurance Co Stock Corp in Munich owned about 0.12% of Sempra Energy as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Sempra Energy in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. NewSquare Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Sempra Energy by 245.1% during the second quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 421 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 299 shares in the last quarter. Hartford Funds Management Co LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sempra Energy during the second quarter worth $35,000. Activest Wealth Management boosted its stake in shares of Sempra Energy by 74.6% in the third quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 391 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the period. Finally, SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. grew its holdings in Sempra Energy by 117.4% during the 3rd quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. now owns 424 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 229 shares in the last quarter. 89.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on SRE. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Sempra Energy in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Barclays set a $95.00 target price on Sempra Energy and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $101.00 price target on shares of Sempra Energy in a research note on Friday, February 20th. UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating and set a $100.00 price objective (up from $96.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a research note on Friday. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Sempra Energy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Sempra Energy presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $100.00.

Sempra Energy Stock Performance

Shares of Sempra Energy stock opened at $92.71 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $60.57 billion, a PE ratio of 33.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 0.73. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $90.28 and its 200-day simple moving average is $89.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 1.59. Sempra Energy has a 1 year low of $61.90 and a 1 year high of $97.44.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $1.28 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $3.75 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.82 billion. Sempra Energy had a return on equity of 8.22% and a net margin of 13.27%.The company's revenue for the quarter was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.50 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Sempra Energy will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 19th will be given a dividend of $0.6575 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 19th. This represents a $2.63 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. This is an increase from Sempra Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. Sempra Energy's dividend payout ratio is currently 93.48%.

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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