Oak Grove Capital LLC Buys 11,300 Shares of Sempra Energy $SRE

Key Points

• Oak Grove Capital LLC significantly increased its holdings in Sempra Energy by 41.4% during the first quarter, now owning 38,600 shares valued at approximately $2.75 million.
• Sempra Energy has been subjected to various analysts' reports, with target prices varying from $71.00 to $88.00, and currently holds an average rating of "Moderate Buy" with a target price of $81.58.
• In its latest quarterly earnings report, Sempra Energy exceeded EPS expectations of $0.82, reporting $0.89; however, the company's revenue fell short of estimates at $3 billion, down 0.4% year-over-year.

Oak Grove Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 41.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 38,600 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 11,300 shares during the period. Sempra Energy comprises 0.6% of Oak Grove Capital LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest position. Oak Grove Capital LLC's holdings in Sempra Energy were worth $2,754,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of SRE. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Sempra Energy by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 64,238,102 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $4,584,032,000 after purchasing an additional 1,220,047 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in Sempra Energy by 12.4% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 7,489,903 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $534,479,000 after purchasing an additional 823,663 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in Sempra Energy by 8.1% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,181,693 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $629,978,000 after purchasing an additional 538,919 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in Sempra Energy by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,168,360 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $368,814,000 after purchasing an additional 25,254 shares during the period. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its stake in Sempra Energy by 71.3% in the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 4,651,923 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $408,069,000 after purchasing an additional 1,936,865 shares during the period. 89.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sempra Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:SRE traded up $1.6450 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $82.6350. 2,783,573 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,547,724. The company has a market cap of $53.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.96, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.62. 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 one year low of $61.90 and a one year high of $95.77. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $77.68 and a 200 day moving average of $75.64.

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

Insider Transactions at Sempra Energy

In other Sempra Energy news, EVP Caroline Ann Winn sold 5,114 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.01, for a total value of $419,399.14. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 39,380 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,229,553.80. This represents a 11.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 1,576 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total value of $126,080.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 15,600 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,248,000. This represents a 9.18% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Barclays cut their price objective on Sempra Energy from $72.00 to $71.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $88.00 price objective (up from $87.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Citigroup reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $80.00 price objective (up from $70.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Sempra Energy from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $81.58.

About Sempra Energy

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.