Neuberger Berman Group LLC Decreases Stock Position in Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE)

Key Points

• Neuberger Berman Group LLC has reduced its stake in Sempra Energy by 29.2%, selling 1,235,951 shares and now owning 3,003,524 shares, valued at $214.2 million.
• Multiple large investors have adjusted their positions, with Vanguard Group Inc. increasing its stake by 1.9% to own over 64 million shares valued at approximately $4.58 billion.
• Sempra Energy's quarterly earnings surpassed analysts' expectations with a reported $0.89 EPS, though total revenue declined 0.4% year-over-year to $3 billion.

Neuberger Berman Group LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 29.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,003,524 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 1,235,951 shares during the quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC owned about 0.46% of Sempra Energy worth $214,224,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Sempra Energy by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 8,194 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $719,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. MJP Associates Inc. ADV boosted its position in shares of Sempra Energy by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. MJP Associates Inc. ADV now owns 6,195 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $543,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. boosted its position in shares of Sempra Energy by 1.7% during 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 boosted 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 purchasing an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Applied Finance Capital Management LLC boosted 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 purchasing an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. 89.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Sempra Energy Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of SRE stock traded down $0.23 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $81.99. The company had a trading volume of 2,775,444 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,572,359. Sempra Energy has a 12 month low of $61.90 and a 12 month high of $95.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.48 and a quick ratio of 0.41. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $77.47 and a 200-day simple moving average of $75.76. The company has a market cap of $53.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.62.

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 for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.07. Sempra Energy had a return on equity of 8.42% and a net margin of 20.28%. The company had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.35 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.89 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Sempra Energy will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 1,576 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total transaction of $126,080.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 15,600 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,248,000. This trade represents a 9.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Caroline Ann Winn sold 5,114 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.01, for a total value of $419,399.14. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 39,380 shares of the company's stock, 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.

Sempra Energy Company 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.