Petrus Trust Company LTA Acquires Shares of 10,222 Sempra Energy $SRE

Key Points

• Petrus Trust Company LTA has invested approximately $729,000 in Sempra Energy by acquiring 10,222 shares in the 1st quarter of the year.
• Institutional investors now own 89.65% of Sempra Energy's stock, indicating strong interest from major financial entities.
• Sempra Energy's latest earnings report revealed an EPS of $0.89, surpassing analysts' expectations of $0.82, despite a revenue decrease of 0.4% year-over-year.

Petrus Trust Company LTA purchased a new position in Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 10,222 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $729,000.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in SRE. Mattson Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sempra Energy during the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Pingora Partners LLC raised its position in Sempra Energy by 48.3% in the 1st quarter. Pingora Partners LLC now owns 430 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Sempra Energy during the 1st quarter valued at $38,000. Park Square Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Sempra Energy during the 4th quarter worth $41,000. Finally, Eastern Bank grew its stake in shares of Sempra Energy by 73.7% in the 1st quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 580 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 246 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.65% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

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

Sempra Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:SRE traded up $1.64 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $81.96. The company had a trading volume of 3,727,743 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,203,468. Sempra Energy has a one year low of $61.90 and a one year high of $95.77. The company has a current ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. The company's 50-day moving average price is $79.84 and its 200-day moving average price is $75.50. The firm has a market cap of $53.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.02, a PEG ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.65.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $3 billion during 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 business's revenue for the quarter was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business 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.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SRE has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $80.00 price target (up from $70.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Sempra Energy in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Finally, Barclays increased their price target 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. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Sempra Energy currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $82.33.

Sempra Energy Company 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.