Reaves W H & Co. Inc. Has $135.20 Million Stock Position in Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE)

Key Points

• Reaves W H & Co. Inc. increased its holdings in Sempra Energy by 43.8%, acquiring a total of 1,894,657 shares during the first quarter, making it their 12th largest holding.
• Insider Diana L. Day sold 8,015 shares of Sempra Energy stock, significantly decreasing her ownership by 32.08%, while the company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.645.
• Sempra Energy reported $1.44 EPS for the latest quarter, surpassing estimates, despite having revenue that fell slightly short of projections, indicating a net margin of 22.15%.

Reaves W H & Co. Inc. raised its position in Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 43.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,894,657 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 576,799 shares during the period. Sempra Energy comprises approximately 3.4% of Reaves W H & Co. Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 12th largest holding. Reaves W H & Co. Inc. owned about 0.29% of Sempra Energy worth $135,203,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in SRE. FMR LLC raised its holdings in Sempra Energy by 8.0% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 20,489,918 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,797,376,000 after purchasing an additional 1,511,313 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of Sempra Energy by 8.1% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,181,693 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $629,978,000 after buying an additional 538,919 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Sempra Energy by 70.6% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,666,240 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $584,763,000 after buying an additional 2,758,037 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in Sempra Energy by 0.5% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,168,360 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $368,814,000 after buying an additional 25,254 shares during the period. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its stake in Sempra Energy by 71.3% in the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 4,651,923 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $408,069,000 after acquiring an additional 1,936,865 shares during the last quarter. 89.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SRE has been the subject of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $88.00 target price (up previously from $87.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. 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. Barclays decreased their target price on Sempra Energy from $72.00 to $71.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Sempra Energy from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on shares of Sempra Energy from $77.00 to $75.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $81.58.

Sempra Energy Stock Up 2.0%

Shares of NYSE:SRE traded up $1.59 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $82.74. The stock had a trading volume of 5,961,700 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,321,867. 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. Sempra Energy has a 12 month low of $61.90 and a 12 month high of $95.77. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $77.02 and its 200-day simple moving average is $75.81. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.35 billion. Sempra Energy had a net margin of 22.15% and a return on equity of 8.55%. The company's quarterly revenue was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.89 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Sempra Energy will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 26th were given a $0.645 dividend. This represents a $2.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 26th. Sempra Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.70%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 1,576 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 23rd. The stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,248,000. The trade was a 9.18% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Diana L. Day sold 8,015 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.26, for a total transaction of $595,193.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 16,969 shares in the company, valued at $1,260,117.94. The trade was a 32.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

Sempra Energy 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.