ProShare Advisors LLC Buys 16,466 Shares of Sempra Energy $SRE

Key Points

• ProShare Advisors LLC increased its Sempra Energy stake by 9.8% in the fourth quarter, buying 16,466 shares and bringing its total holding to 183,837 shares worth about $16.2 million.
• Institutional ownership remains very high, with 89.65% of Sempra Energy shares held by institutions; several big investors, including Vanguard and JPMorgan Chase, also raised their positions.
• Sempra recently reported Q1 earnings of $1.51 per share, matching estimates, while revenue came in below expectations at $3.66 billion. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.6575 per share, yielding about 2.9%.

ProShare Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 9.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 183,837 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 16,466 shares during the quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC's holdings in Sempra Energy were worth $16,231,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Sempra Energy by 14.2% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 75,725,594 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $6,813,784,000 after purchasing an additional 9,396,652 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in Sempra Energy by 106.3% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 10,428,007 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $938,325,000 after buying an additional 5,374,277 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors lifted its holdings in Sempra Energy by 9.2% in the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 54,071,206 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $4,865,115,000 after buying an additional 4,572,312 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in Sempra Energy by 40.1% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 10,419,115 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $937,512,000 after buying an additional 2,984,409 shares during the period. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its position in Sempra Energy by 20,627.9% during the 3rd quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,898,675 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $170,842,000 after acquiring an additional 1,889,515 shares in the last quarter. 89.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Cynthia J. Warner purchased 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $92.95 per share, with a total value of $232,375.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 11,275 shares in the company, valued at $1,048,011.25. This trade represents a 28.49% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Karen L. Sedgwick sold 4,872 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.58, for a total transaction of $451,049.76. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 39,029 shares in the company, valued at $3,613,304.82. This trade represents a 11.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders purchased 6,192 shares of company stock valued at $576,979 and sold 13,439 shares valued at $1,243,713. Insiders own 0.31% of the company's stock.

Sempra Energy Price Performance

SRE stock opened at $91.46 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a current ratio of 1.69. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $94.56 and a 200-day moving average price of $91.96. Sempra Energy has a 52-week low of $73.06 and a 52-week high of $101.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $59.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.00, a PEG ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 0.60.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.51 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.51. The company had revenue of $3.66 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.10 billion. Sempra Energy had a return on equity of 8.20% and a net margin of 14.31%.The firm's quarterly revenue was down 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.44 EPS. Sempra Energy has set its FY 2027 guidance at 5.100-5.700 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 4.870-5.370 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Sempra Energy will post 5.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 25th will be issued a dividend of $0.6575 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 25th. This represents a $2.63 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. Sempra Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 89.15%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on SRE. Argus raised Sempra Energy from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating and set a $100.00 price target (up from $96.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a research report on Friday, March 6th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on Sempra Energy from $105.00 to $103.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Barclays reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $105.00 price objective (up from $95.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, Truist Financial set a $104.00 price objective on Sempra Energy and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $102.67.

About Sempra Energy

Sempra Energy is a San Diego–based energy infrastructure company that develops, owns and operates businesses delivering electricity and natural gas. Its operations include regulated utility services that provide electric and gas distribution to residential, commercial and industrial customers, as well as non‑regulated infrastructure businesses that develop and manage large-scale energy assets.

The company's product and service portfolio spans electricity and natural gas delivery, transmission and storage, liquefied natural gas (LNG) facilities, power generation and electric transmission projects.

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