National Bank of Canada FI Purchases 63,324 Shares of Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE)

Key Points

• National Bank of Canada FI increased its stake in Sempra Energy by 12% in the first quarter, owning approximately 0.09% of the company, valued at $42.3 million after acquiring 63,324 additional shares.
• In the first quarter, institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 89.65% of Sempra Energy’s stock, indicating strong institutional interest.
• Sempra Energy reported $0.89 EPS for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations of $0.82, while also announcing a quarterly dividend of $0.645.

National Bank of Canada FI boosted its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 12.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 592,787 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 63,324 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI owned approximately 0.09% of Sempra Energy worth $42,300,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Sempra Energy by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 10,008 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $877,000 after acquiring an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 2,639 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $232,000 after buying an additional 126 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy by 938.2% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 29,474 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,585,000 after buying an additional 26,635 shares during the period. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 302,003 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $26,488,000 after buying an additional 16,048 shares during the period. Finally, Townsquare Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Sempra Energy by 8.6% in the 4th quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 34,033 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,985,000 after purchasing an additional 2,696 shares during the period. 89.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Sempra Energy

In related news, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 1,576 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 23rd. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $1,248,000. The trade was a 9.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on SRE shares. Barclays decreased their price objective on Sempra Energy from $72.00 to $71.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $88.00 price objective (up previously from $87.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $80.00 price objective (up previously from $70.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a research report on Monday, August 4th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Sempra Energy from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on shares of Sempra Energy from $77.00 to $75.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $81.58.

Sempra Energy Trading Up 0.2%

Sempra Energy stock traded up $0.14 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $82.23. 2,607,576 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,585,812. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $77.23 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $75.71. Sempra Energy has a 52 week low of $61.90 and a 52 week high of $95.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $53.65 billion, a PE ratio of 19.86, a P/E/G ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a quick ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 firm earned $0.89 EPS. Sempra Energy's quarterly revenue was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Sempra Energy will post 4.76 EPS 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 payout ratio is currently 62.32%.

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.