Nomura Holdings Inc. Sells 182,896 Shares of Sempra Energy $SRE

Key Points

• Nomura Holdings Inc. has significantly reduced its stake in Sempra Energy by 90.1%, selling 182,896 shares to hold less than 20,000 shares valued at approximately $1.4 million.
• Other institutional investors have been increasing their positions, with Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services and Merit Financial Group LLC raising their stakes by 8.4% and 171.2%, respectively.
• Sempra Energy reported an EPS of $0.89 for the latest quarter, exceeding analyst expectations, but its revenue of $3 billion fell short of projections.

Nomura Holdings Inc. lowered its position in Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 90.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 19,998 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 182,896 shares during the period. Nomura Holdings Inc.'s holdings in Sempra Energy were worth $1,427,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Sempra Energy by 8.4% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 173,408 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $12,374,000 after acquiring an additional 13,433 shares during the last quarter. Carrera Capital Advisors increased its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy by 8.0% in the first quarter. Carrera Capital Advisors now owns 49,570 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,569,000 after purchasing an additional 3,677 shares in the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy by 171.2% in the first quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 11,107 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $793,000 after purchasing an additional 7,012 shares in the last quarter. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Sempra Energy in the first quarter valued at approximately $483,000. Finally, Lee Danner & Bass Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy by 81.0% in the first quarter. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. now owns 46,277 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,302,000 after purchasing an additional 20,707 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.65% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Sempra Energy news, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 1,576 shares of Sempra Energy stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 23rd. The shares were 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 owned 15,600 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,248,000. The trade was a 9.18% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Caroline Ann Winn sold 5,114 shares of Sempra Energy stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.01, for a total transaction 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. This represents a 11.49% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on SRE. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Sempra Energy from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Sempra Energy in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Citigroup reissued 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, Barclays raised their price target on shares of Sempra Energy from $71.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 26th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $82.33.

Sempra Energy Price Performance

SRE opened at $82.87 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $79.28 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $75.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 0.48. Sempra Energy has a 52 week low of $61.90 and a 52 week high of $95.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $54.07 billion, a PE ratio of 20.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.65.

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

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.

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