Sempra Energy $SRE Shares Purchased by Royal Bank of Canada

Key Points

• The Royal Bank of Canada has increased its stake in Sempra Energy by 0.4%, now holding a total of 2,346,798 shares valued at approximately $167.5 million as per its recent SEC filing.
• Sempra Energy reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $0.89, surpassing estimates but experiencing a 0.4% decline in revenue year-over-year.
• A total of 89.65% of Sempra Energy's stock is owned by institutional investors, indicating strong institutional interest in the company.

Royal Bank of Canada raised its position in shares of Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 0.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,346,798 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 8,459 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada owned about 0.36% of Sempra Energy worth $167,468,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC increased its position in Sempra Energy by 79.8% during the 4th quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 27,114 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,378,000 after purchasing an additional 12,030 shares during the period. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in Sempra Energy by 368.7% during the fourth quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 19,681 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,736,000 after purchasing an additional 15,482 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake in Sempra Energy by 60.6% in the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,415,745 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $124,189,000 after purchasing an additional 534,381 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. lifted its position in shares of Sempra Energy by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 24,762 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,172,000 after buying an additional 535 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sempra Energy in the 4th quarter worth $1,647,000. 89.65% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Sempra Energy news, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 1,576 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 owned 15,600 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,248,000. The trade was a 9.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Caroline Ann Winn sold 5,114 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 39,380 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,229,553.80. This represents a 11.49% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.27% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of Sempra Energy in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Sempra Energy from $71.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 26th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $80.00 target price (up previously from $70.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Sempra Energy from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Sempra Energy has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $82.33.

Sempra Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SRE traded down $0.11 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $82.12. 3,601,035 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,169,350. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $79.57 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $75.69. Sempra Energy has a 1 year low of $61.90 and a 1 year high of $95.77. The company has a market cap of $53.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.84, a PEG ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 0.48.

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

About Sempra Energy

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.