Quantitative Investment Management LLC Buys Shares of 43,245 Sempra Energy $SRE

Key Points

• Quantitative Investment Management LLC acquired a stake in Sempra Energy worth approximately $3.09 million by purchasing 43,245 shares in the first quarter.
• Sempra Energy reported an EPS of $0.89 for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' estimates of $0.82, despite experiencing a 0.4% decline in revenue compared to the previous year.
• The stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" among analysts with a price target of $81.58, indicating a positive outlook for Sempra Energy shares.

Quantitative Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 43,245 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $3,085,000.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in SRE. Jump Financial LLC grew its position in Sempra Energy by 63.7% during the first quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 9,493 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $677,000 after buying an additional 3,693 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its position in shares of Sempra Energy by 72.7% during the 1st quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 47,319 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,377,000 after acquiring an additional 19,924 shares during the period. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp increased its stake in shares of Sempra Energy by 33.0% in the 1st quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 740,728 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $52,858,000 after purchasing an additional 183,686 shares in the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC acquired a new position in Sempra Energy in the 1st quarter worth about $333,000. Finally, Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Sempra Energy by 68.5% in the 1st quarter. Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC now owns 9,875 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $705,000 after purchasing an additional 4,016 shares during the period. 89.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Sempra Energy Trading Down 0.9%

NYSE SRE traded down $0.73 on Thursday, reaching $81.54. 2,527,451 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,484,873. 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 business's fifty day moving average price is $78.70 and its 200 day moving average price is $75.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $53.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.62. Sempra Energy has a fifty-two week low of $61.90 and a fifty-two week high of $95.77.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Sempra Energy from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $80.00 price target (up previously from $70.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Sempra Energy in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Sempra Energy from $71.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Sempra Energy currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $82.33.

Insider Activity at Sempra Energy

In other news, EVP Caroline Ann Winn sold 5,114 shares of the firm's 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 39,380 shares in the company, valued at $3,229,553.80. This trade represents a 11.49% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 1,576 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total value of $126,080.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 15,600 shares in the company, valued at $1,248,000. This represents a 9.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

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.