Reaves W H & Co. Inc. Raises Stock Position in Sempra Energy $SRE

Key Points

• Reaves W H & Co. Inc. increased its Sempra Energy stake by 34.1% in the fourth quarter, buying 544,567 shares and bringing its total to 2.14 million shares worth about $189 million.
• Sempra reported Q1 earnings of $1.51 per share, matching analyst expectations, but revenue came in below forecasts at $3.66 billion and fell 3.9% from a year earlier.
• The utility declared a quarterly dividend of $0.6575 per share, equal to an annualized yield of about 3.0%, while analysts currently rate the stock a Moderate Buy with an average price target of $102.67.

Reaves W H & Co. Inc. boosted its position in Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 34.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,140,395 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 544,567 shares during the quarter. Sempra Energy comprises 3.3% of Reaves W H & Co. Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 10th biggest position. Reaves W H & Co. Inc. owned approximately 0.33% of Sempra Energy worth $188,975,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Sempra Energy by 19.4% in the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 85,334 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $7,678,000 after purchasing an additional 13,864 shares during the last quarter. Peak Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in Sempra Energy by 190.1% in the 4th quarter. Peak Financial Advisors LLC now owns 26,552 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,344,000 after purchasing an additional 17,400 shares during the last quarter. Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ lifted its position in Sempra Energy by 5.7% in the 3rd quarter. Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ now owns 203,402 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $18,302,000 after purchasing an additional 11,020 shares during the last quarter. ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd bought a new stake in Sempra Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at about $150,993,000. Finally, Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. lifted its position in Sempra Energy by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. now owns 2,143,205 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $192,846,000 after purchasing an additional 106,380 shares during the last quarter. 89.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Sempra Energy Stock Down 0.3%

SRE stock opened at $88.90 on Monday. Sempra Energy has a 52 week low of $73.06 and a 52 week high of $101.04. The company has a market capitalization of $58.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.57. The firm's 50-day moving average is $94.13 and its two-hundred day moving average is $91.89. The company has a current ratio of 1.69, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.51 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.51. Sempra Energy had a net margin of 14.31% and a return on equity of 8.20%. The company had revenue of $3.66 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.10 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.44 EPS. Sempra Energy's revenue was down 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. 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, analysts forecast that Sempra Energy will post 5.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 25th will be issued a $0.6575 dividend. This represents a $2.63 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 25th. Sempra Energy's payout ratio is presently 89.15%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Dyan Z. Wold sold 1,539 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.38, for a total value of $146,789.82. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 4,633 shares in the company, valued at $441,895.54. The trade was a 24.94% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Diana L. Day sold 3,300 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.13, for a total transaction of $304,029.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 22,870 shares in the company, valued at $2,107,013.10. The trade was a 12.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders purchased 6,192 shares of company stock worth $576,979 and sold 13,439 shares worth $1,243,713. Company insiders own 0.31% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on SRE. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on shares of Sempra Energy from $105.00 to $103.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 11th. 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Sempra Energy from $98.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Sempra Energy in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of Sempra Energy from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average 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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