Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. Makes New Investment in Sempra Energy $SRE

Key Points

• Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management initiated a roughly $1.87 million position in Sempra Energy during the second quarter. Institutional investors collectively own 89.65% of Sempra’s outstanding shares.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive view, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $103.62, although Morgan Stanley and Barclays recently reduced their targets.
• Sempra’s latest quarterly earnings exceeded expectations, with EPS of $1.16 versus the $1.01 consensus estimate, while revenue totaled $3 billion. The stock opened at $84.57, below its 50-day and 200-day moving averages.

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. bought a new stake in Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 20,137 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,867,000.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of SRE. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Sempra Energy during the 2nd quarter worth $5,588,577,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Sempra Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $914,924,000. Deutsche Bank AG purchased a new position in Sempra Energy during the second quarter worth about $896,599,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in Sempra Energy during the second quarter worth about $465,202,000. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised its holdings in Sempra Energy by 17.0% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 22,330,091 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,971,524,000 after purchasing an additional 3,250,783 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.65% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SRE has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Sempra Energy from $108.00 to $104.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Truist Financial set a $100.00 price target on Sempra Energy and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 13th. Barclays decreased their price target on Sempra Energy from $105.00 to $103.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Sempra Energy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 25th. Finally, TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of Sempra Energy in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. They set a "buy" rating on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Sempra Energy presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $103.62.

Insider Activity at Sempra Energy

In related news, EVP Caroline Ann Winn sold 8,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.55, for a total value of $724,400.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 25,164 shares in the company, valued at $2,278,600.20. The trade was a 24.12% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.31% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Sempra Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SRE opened at $84.57 on Tuesday. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $90.17 and its 200-day simple moving average is $92.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $55.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.64 and a quick ratio of 1.62. Sempra Energy has a 12 month low of $78.97 and a 12 month high of $101.04.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.01 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.14 billion. Sempra Energy had a return on equity of 8.49% and a net margin of 16.70%.The company's revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.89 EPS. Sempra Energy has set its FY 2027 guidance at 5.100-5.700 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 4.800-5.300 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Sempra Energy will post 5.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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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