Perpetual Ltd Sells 544,832 Shares of Sempra Energy $SRE

Key Points

• Perpetual Ltd has reduced its stake in Sempra Energy by 21.1%, bringing its holdings down to approximately 2,034,548 shares valued at $154.16 million.
• Sempra Energy's stock has received a "Moderate Buy" consensus rating, with a target price raised to $81.27 by analysts amid varying upgrades and ratings.
• The company will pay a quarterly dividend of $0.645 on October 15th, providing an annualized yield of 3.1% with a payout ratio of 62.32%.

Perpetual Ltd decreased its position in Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 21.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,034,548 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 544,832 shares during the quarter. Sempra Energy accounts for approximately 1.8% of Perpetual Ltd's holdings, making the stock its 15th largest holding. Perpetual Ltd owned 0.31% of Sempra Energy worth $154,158,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of SRE. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of Sempra Energy by 26.8% in the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 48,686,047 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,474,236,000 after acquiring an additional 10,278,893 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sempra Energy in the first quarter valued at about $192,130,000. PointState Capital LP acquired a new stake in shares of Sempra Energy in the first quarter valued at about $154,369,000. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sempra Energy in the second quarter valued at about $160,357,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of Sempra Energy by 42.7% in the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,647,990 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $331,681,000 after acquiring an additional 1,391,433 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.65% of the company's stock.

Sempra Energy Price Performance

Shares of SRE stock traded up $3.23 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $85.60. The company had a trading volume of 2,035,406 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,500,697. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 0.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $55.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.65. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $81.30 and its 200 day moving average price is $76.17. Sempra Energy has a one year low of $61.90 and a one year high of $95.77.

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

Sempra Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 1st will be paid a $0.645 dividend. This represents a $2.58 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 1st. Sempra Energy's payout ratio is 62.32%.

Insider Activity at Sempra Energy

In other Sempra Energy news, EVP Caroline Ann Winn sold 5,114 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.01, for a total transaction of $419,399.14. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 39,380 shares in the company, valued at $3,229,553.80. This represents a 11.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 1,576 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total value of $126,080.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 15,600 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,248,000. The trade was a 9.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 35,554 shares of company stock worth $2,976,117. Company insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on SRE shares. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $80.00 target price (up previously from $70.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Barclays lifted their target price on Sempra Energy from $71.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Sempra Energy in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Sempra Energy has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $81.27.

Sempra Energy Profile

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.