New York State Teachers Retirement System Sells 21,121 Shares of Sempra Energy $SRE

Key Points

• New York State Teachers Retirement System trimmed its Sempra Energy stake by 4.1%, selling 21,121 shares and now holds 499,471 shares worth $44,098,000 (about 0.08% of the company).
• Sempra beat quarterly EPS at $1.28 vs. $1.12 expected while revenue of $3.75 billion slightly missed estimates; analysts forecast full‑year EPS of 5.1 and an average price target of $102.67 (average rating: Moderate Buy).
• Sempra raised its quarterly dividend to $0.6575 ($2.63 annual, ~2.8% yield) though the payout ratio is high at 95.29%, insiders were net sellers this quarter (6,192 shares bought vs. 7,539 sold), and institutional ownership is 89.65%.

New York State Teachers Retirement System trimmed its position in shares of Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 4.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 499,471 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 21,121 shares during the quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System owned approximately 0.08% of Sempra Energy worth $44,098,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Sempra Energy during the third quarter valued at $25,000. Ares Financial Consulting LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sempra Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Activest Wealth Management lifted its position in shares of Sempra Energy by 74.6% during the 3rd quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 391 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares during the period. Board of the Pension Protection Fund acquired a new stake in Sempra Energy in the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Salomon & Ludwin LLC grew its stake 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 valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 191 shares during the period. 89.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Sempra Energy Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of SRE opened at $94.79 on Friday. Sempra Energy has a 1-year low of $73.06 and a 1-year high of $101.04. The company has a market capitalization of $61.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.34, a P/E/G ratio of 3.60 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 1.59 and a quick ratio of 1.57. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $95.13 and its 200 day simple moving average is $91.96.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $1.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.16. Sempra Energy had a net margin of 13.27% and a return on equity of 8.22%. The firm had revenue of $3.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.82 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.50 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was down .2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Sempra Energy will post 5.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Energy Increases Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on SRE. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Sempra Energy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday. Morgan Stanley set a $104.00 target price on shares of Sempra Energy and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Truist Financial set a $108.00 price target on shares of Sempra Energy and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $100.00 price target (up from $96.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a report on Friday, March 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Sempra Energy in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Sempra Energy has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $102.67.

Insider Transactions at Sempra Energy

In other Sempra Energy news, Director Cynthia J. Warner acquired 2,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was bought at an average price of $92.95 per share, with a total value of $232,375.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 11,275 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,048,011.25. This trade represents a 28.49% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Dyan Z. Wold sold 1,539 shares of Sempra Energy stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 4,633 shares in the company, valued at approximately $441,895.54. This represents a 24.94% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders purchased 6,192 shares of company stock worth $576,979 and sold 7,539 shares worth $706,906. Insiders own 0.31% of the company's stock.

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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