Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. Acquires 67,938 Shares of Sempra Energy $SRE

Key Points

• Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management increased its Sempra Energy stake by 387% in the fourth quarter, buying 67,938 additional shares and bringing its total holdings to 85,493 shares valued at about $7.55 million.
• Institutional ownership in Sempra remains high at 89.65%, and several other hedge funds and asset managers also boosted their positions during the quarter.
• Analysts remain broadly positive on the stock, with a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $102.67, while Sempra recently reported earnings in line with estimates and reaffirmed dividend payments yielding about 2.8%.

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its holdings in Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 387.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 85,493 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 67,938 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.'s holdings in Sempra Energy were worth $7,548,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Bedminster LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sempra Energy in the 4th quarter worth $555,000. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy by 16.8% in the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 2,218,318 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $195,855,000 after purchasing an additional 319,643 shares in the last quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy by 8.7% in the 4th quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,434 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $480,000 after purchasing an additional 434 shares in the last quarter. Plancorp LLC increased its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy by 11.5% in the 4th quarter. Plancorp LLC now owns 4,666 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $412,000 after purchasing an additional 481 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP increased its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy by 15.3% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 12,411 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,096,000 after purchasing an additional 1,645 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.65% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Wall Street Zen lowered Sempra Energy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Sunday, May 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Sempra Energy from $98.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 18th. Morgan Stanley set a $104.00 price target on Sempra Energy and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Sempra Energy in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $118.00 price target on shares of Sempra Energy in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $102.67.

Sempra Energy Stock Performance

SRE stock opened at $92.89 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $60.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 0.60. Sempra Energy has a 1 year low of $73.06 and a 1 year high of $101.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.69 and a quick ratio of 1.66. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $94.54 and its 200-day moving average price is $91.96.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.51. The firm had revenue of $3.66 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.10 billion. Sempra Energy had a return on equity of 8.20% and a net margin of 14.31%.The company's revenue for the quarter was down 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.44 EPS. 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. On average, equities analysts forecast that Sempra Energy will post 5.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Sempra Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 25th will be given a dividend of $0.6575 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 25th. This represents a $2.63 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. Sempra Energy's payout ratio is 89.15%.

Insider Activity at Sempra Energy

In related news, Director Cynthia J. Warner bought 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $92.95 per share, for a total transaction of $232,375.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Diana L. Day sold 3,300 shares of Sempra Energy stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.13, for a total value of $304,029.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 22,870 shares in the company, valued at $2,107,013.10. This trade represents a 12.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders bought 6,192 shares of company stock valued at $576,979 and sold 13,439 shares valued at $1,243,713. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Sempra Energy Company 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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