Norges Bank Invests $914.92 Million in Sempra Energy $SRE

Key Points

• Norges Bank disclosed a new stake in Sempra Energy, buying 10.36 million shares worth about $914.9 million in the fourth quarter. The position represents about 1.59% of the utility company.
• Wall Street sentiment on Sempra remains generally positive, with several firms reiterating or raising price targets and Argus upgrading the stock to buy. The consensus rating is Moderate Buy with an average target price of $102.67.
• Sempra reported quarterly EPS of $1.51, matching estimates, while revenue came in below expectations at $3.66 billion. The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.6575 per share, implying a 3.0% yield.

Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 10,362,712 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $914,924,000. Norges Bank owned 1.59% of Sempra Energy as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. acquired a new position in Sempra Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $11,317,000. Fideuram Asset Management Ireland dac acquired a new position in Sempra Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $784,000. National Pension Service increased its position in Sempra Energy by 246.4% in the 4th quarter. National Pension Service now owns 2,826,999 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $249,596,000 after acquiring an additional 2,010,853 shares during the period. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. increased its position in Sempra Energy by 7.5% in the 4th quarter. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. now owns 72,000 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $6,357,000 after acquiring an additional 5,000 shares during the period. Finally, Rothschild Investment LLC increased its position in Sempra Energy by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 3,666 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $324,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.65% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on SRE. UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $100.00 price target (up from $96.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Wells Fargo & Company restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $118.00 price target on shares of Sempra Energy in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Barclays restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $105.00 price target (up from $95.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Argus raised Sempra Energy from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Sempra Energy from $98.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $102.67.

Sempra Energy Price Performance

Shares of SRE opened at $88.90 on Friday. Sempra Energy has a twelve month low of $73.06 and a twelve month high of $101.04. The stock's 50 day moving average is $94.13 and its two-hundred day moving average is $91.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $58.11 billion, a PE ratio of 30.13, a P/E/G ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a current ratio of 1.69, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.51 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.51. Sempra Energy had a return on equity of 8.20% and a net margin of 14.31%.The company had revenue of $3.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.10 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.44 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sempra Energy has set its FY 2027 guidance at 5.100-5.700 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 4.870-5.370 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Sempra Energy will post 5.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Sempra Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 25th will be issued a $0.6575 dividend. This represents a $2.63 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 25th. Sempra Energy's payout ratio is currently 89.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sempra Energy

In other news, EVP Justin Christopher Bird sold 1,128 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.69, for a total transaction of $109,066.32. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 21,632 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,091,598.08. The trade was a 4.96% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Diana L. Day sold 3,300 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.13, for a total value of $304,029.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 22,870 shares in the company, valued at $2,107,013.10. This trade represents a 12.61% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders have bought 6,192 shares of company stock worth $576,979 and have sold 13,439 shares worth $1,243,713. 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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