North Dakota State Investment Board Acquires New Stake in Sempra Energy $SRE

Key Points

• North Dakota State Investment Board opened a new position in Sempra Energy during the fourth quarter, buying 22,387 shares worth about $1.98 million. Several other hedge funds also added or increased stakes, and institutions now own 89.65% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment remains generally positive: Morgan Stanley and Wells Fargo reiterated overweight ratings, while the consensus from MarketBeat is a Moderate Buy with an average price target of $102.67. However, Wall Street Zen downgraded the stock to sell.
• Sempra reported quarterly EPS of $1.51, matching expectations, but revenue of $3.66 billion came in below estimates and fell 3.9% year over year. The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.6575 per share, implying a 2.9% yield.

North Dakota State Investment Board acquired a new stake in shares of Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 22,387 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,977,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in SRE. Ares Financial Consulting LLC acquired a new position in Sempra Energy in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Activest Wealth Management grew its position in Sempra Energy by 74.6% in the third quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 391 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Board of the Pension Protection Fund acquired a new position in Sempra Energy in the fourth quarter worth approximately $35,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC grew its position in Sempra Energy by 88.8% in the fourth quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 406 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 191 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPL Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Sempra Energy in the third quarter worth approximately $41,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.65% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on SRE shares. Morgan Stanley set a $104.00 price target on shares of Sempra Energy and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. 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. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Sempra Energy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Sunday, May 10th. Argus upgraded shares of Sempra Energy from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Sempra Energy currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $102.67.

Insider Activity

In other Sempra Energy news, CAO Dyan Z. Wold sold 1,539 shares of Sempra Energy stock in a transaction on Monday, March 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.38, for a total transaction of $146,789.82. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 4,633 shares of the company's stock, valued at $441,895.54. This trade represents a 24.94% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Karen L. Sedgwick sold 4,872 shares of Sempra Energy stock in a transaction on Monday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.58, for a total transaction of $451,049.76. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 39,029 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,613,304.82. This trade represents a 11.10% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders bought 6,192 shares of company stock worth $576,979 and sold 10,839 shares worth $1,010,935. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Sempra Energy Trading Down 0.4%

NYSE SRE opened at $90.09 on Tuesday. Sempra Energy has a twelve month low of $73.06 and a twelve month high of $101.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a current ratio of 1.69. The stock has a market cap of $58.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.54, a PEG ratio of 3.41 and a beta of 0.60. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $94.63 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $91.97.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.51 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.51. Sempra Energy had a net margin of 14.31% and a return on equity of 8.20%. The firm had revenue of $3.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.10 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.44 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue 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. Equities analysts anticipate that Sempra Energy will post 5.11 EPS for the current year.

Sempra Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 25th will be given a dividend of $0.6575 per share. This represents a $2.63 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 25th. Sempra Energy's payout ratio is presently 89.15%.

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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