PNC Financial Services Group Inc. Reduces Holdings in Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE)

Key Points

• PNC Financial Services Group Inc. reduced its holdings in Sempra Energy by 63.9%, selling 228,190 shares, leaving it with 128,824 shares valued at approximately $9.19 million.
• Several hedge funds have increased their stakes in Sempra Energy significantly, with Invesco Ltd. boosting its position by 70.6%, acquiring 2.76 million shares in the process.
• The average price target for Sempra Energy is currently $81.58, with a mix of ratings from analysts, including six hold ratings and seven buy ratings.

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. reduced its position in shares of Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 63.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 128,824 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 228,190 shares during the quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.'s holdings in Sempra Energy were worth $9,193,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of SRE. Mattson Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sempra Energy in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Park Square Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Sempra Energy during the fourth quarter worth $41,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Sempra Energy in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Eastern Bank lifted its stake in shares of Sempra Energy by 73.7% in the first quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 580 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 246 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cary Street Partners Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sempra Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $56,000. Institutional investors own 89.65% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Diana L. Day sold 8,015 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.26, for a total value of $595,193.90. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 16,969 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,260,117.94. The trade was a 32.08% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 1,576 shares of Sempra Energy stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total transaction of $126,080.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 15,600 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,248,000. The trade was 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.

Sempra Energy Stock Performance

Shares of SRE traded up $1.59 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $82.74. 5,961,700 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,321,867. Sempra Energy has a twelve month low of $61.90 and a twelve month high of $95.77. The company has a market cap of $53.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.18, a PEG ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 0.62. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $76.92 and its 200 day simple moving average is $75.83. The company has a quick ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89.

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, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.35 billion. Sempra Energy had a return on equity of 8.55% and a net margin of 22.15%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.89 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Sempra Energy will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Sempra Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 26th were paid a $0.645 dividend. This represents a $2.58 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 26th. Sempra Energy's payout ratio is 56.70%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $80.00 target price (up previously from $70.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a research note on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on shares of Sempra Energy from $77.00 to $75.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Sempra Energy from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Sempra Energy from $72.00 to $71.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $88.00 price objective (up previously from $87.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus 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.