PointState Capital LP Takes Position in Sempra Energy $SRE

Key Points

• PointState Capital LP acquired a significant stake in Sempra Energy by purchasing 2,163,241 shares valued at approximately $154.37 million, making it the 13th largest position in their portfolio.
• Sempra Energy reported a quarterly EPS of $0.89, exceeding analyst estimates, but experienced a year-over-year revenue decline of 0.4%.
• The stock has been rated with a consensus of "Moderate Buy" by analysts, with a target price of $82.33, indicating potential upside from current trading levels.

PointState Capital LP purchased a new position in shares of Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 2,163,241 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $154,369,000. Sempra Energy comprises approximately 2.2% of PointState Capital LP's portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. PointState Capital LP owned approximately 0.33% of Sempra Energy as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Sempra Energy by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 64,238,102 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $4,584,032,000 after purchasing an additional 1,220,047 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of Sempra Energy by 26.8% during the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 48,686,047 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,474,236,000 after purchasing an additional 10,278,893 shares during the period. Newport Trust Company LLC raised its position in shares of Sempra Energy by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Newport Trust Company LLC now owns 13,331,160 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $951,312,000 after purchasing an additional 41,104 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in shares of Sempra Energy by 4.0% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 7,520,600 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $536,671,000 after purchasing an additional 291,026 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of Sempra Energy by 12.4% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 7,489,903 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $534,479,000 after purchasing an additional 823,663 shares during the period. 89.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Sempra Energy Trading Up 1.1%

SRE stock traded up $0.90 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $82.91. The company had a trading volume of 2,196,331 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,445,296. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.48 and a quick ratio of 0.41. The company has a market capitalization of $54.10 billion, a PE ratio of 20.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.65. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $79.98 and a 200 day moving average of $75.55. Sempra Energy has a 12 month low of $61.90 and a 12 month high of $95.77.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 1,576 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 15,600 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,248,000. This trade represents a 9.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Caroline Ann Winn sold 5,114 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.01, for a total transaction of $419,399.14. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 39,380 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,229,553.80. This represents a 11.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SRE has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Sempra Energy from $71.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 26th. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Sempra Energy in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $80.00 price target (up from $70.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a report on Monday, August 4th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target 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.