AIA Group Ltd Acquires 4,701 Shares of Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE)

Key Points

• AIA Group Ltd increased its stake in Sempra Energy by 8.8%, holding 58,145 shares valued at approximately $4.15 million.
• The company's stock has seen various analyst ratings, with a consensus target price of $81.58 and a recent performance showing a 1.0% decline.
• Sempra Energy announced a quarterly dividend of $0.645 per share, representing a 3.2% yield based on an annualized rate.

AIA Group Ltd increased its position in Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 8.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 58,145 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 4,701 shares during the quarter. AIA Group Ltd's holdings in Sempra Energy were worth $4,149,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of SRE. Mattson Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in Sempra Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Sempra Energy in the first quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Park Square Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Sempra Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Eastern Bank lifted its position in Sempra Energy by 73.7% in the first quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 580 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 246 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cary Street Partners Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Sempra Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $56,000. Institutional investors own 89.65% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on SRE. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and set a $88.00 target price (up previously from $87.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating and set a $80.00 price target (up from $70.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a report on Monday, August 4th. Barclays reduced their price target on Sempra Energy from $72.00 to $71.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Sempra Energy from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $81.58.

Insider Transactions at Sempra Energy

In other news, EVP Caroline Ann Winn sold 5,114 shares of Sempra Energy stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.01, for a total transaction of $419,399.14. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 39,380 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,229,553.80. The trade was a 11.49% decrease in their position. The transaction 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 Sempra Energy stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total value 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.27% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Sempra Energy Stock Performance

Shares of SRE stock traded down $0.23 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $81.99. 2,775,444 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,578,157. Sempra Energy has a 12-month low of $61.90 and a 12-month high of $95.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.48 and a quick ratio of 0.41. The company has a market cap of $53.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.62. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $77.34 and a 200 day moving average price of $75.76.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.07. Sempra Energy had a return on equity of 8.42% and a net margin of 20.28%. The firm had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.35 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.89 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Sempra Energy will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.