Prudential PLC Grows Stock Holdings in Sempra Energy $SRE

Key Points

• Prudential PLC boosted its stake in Sempra Energy by 500.2% in the fourth quarter, ending with 64,346 shares valued at about $5.68 million.
• Other institutional investors also increased exposure, and hedge funds now own 89.65% of Sempra’s stock, showing heavy institutional interest in the utility.
• Sempra reported quarterly EPS of $1.51 in line with estimates, but revenue came in below expectations; it also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.6575 per share, implying a 2.9% yield.

Prudential PLC raised its holdings in Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 500.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 64,346 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 53,625 shares during the period. Prudential PLC's holdings in Sempra Energy were worth $5,681,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of SRE. Ares Financial Consulting LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Sempra Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Key Financial Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy by 73.6% in the fourth quarter. Key Financial Inc now owns 361 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy by 83.0% in the fourth quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 355 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. Board of the Pension Protection Fund purchased a new stake in shares of Sempra Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Salomon & Ludwin LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy by 88.8% in the fourth quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 406 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.65% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sempra Energy

In related news, insider Diana L. Day sold 3,300 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.13, for a total transaction of $304,029.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 22,870 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,107,013.10. This represents a 12.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Pablo Ferrero sold 2,600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.53, for a total transaction of $232,778.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 15,423 shares in the company, valued at $1,380,821.19. The trade was a 14.43% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders have bought 6,192 shares of company stock valued at $576,979 and have sold 13,439 shares valued at $1,243,713. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Sempra Energy Stock Performance

Shares of SRE opened at $91.51 on Friday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $59.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.02, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 0.56. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $93.68 and its 200 day simple moving average is $91.80. Sempra Energy has a 1 year low of $73.06 and a 1 year high of $101.04.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.51. The business had revenue of $3.66 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.10 billion. Sempra Energy had a net margin of 14.31% and a return on equity of 8.20%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.44 earnings per share. 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. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Sempra Energy will post 5.11 EPS for the current year.

Sempra Energy Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on SRE. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Sempra Energy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Sunday, May 10th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Sempra Energy in a report on Monday, April 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Sempra Energy from $98.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 18th. Barclays reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $105.00 price target (up from $95.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, Argus raised shares of Sempra Energy from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Sempra Energy presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $102.67.

Sempra Energy Profile

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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