Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. Grows Holdings in Sempra Energy $SRE

Key Points

• Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Sempra Energy by 10.5%, now holding over 210,000 shares valued at approximately $14.9 million.
• As of the latest reports, institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.65% of Sempra Energy's stock, indicating strong institutional interest in the company.
• Sempra Energy reported earnings of $0.89 per share for the last quarter, surpassing analysts' estimates of $0.82, while revenues totaled $3 billion, slightly below expectations.

Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 10.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 210,082 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 20,011 shares during the quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd.'s holdings in Sempra Energy were worth $14,938,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its position in Sempra Energy by 3.5% during the 1st quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 1,317,224 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $93,997,000 after buying an additional 44,982 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its position in Sempra Energy by 3.0% during the first quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 169,337 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $12,084,000 after purchasing an additional 4,998 shares in the last quarter. AIA Group Ltd grew its holdings in Sempra Energy by 8.8% during the first quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 58,145 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $4,149,000 after purchasing an additional 4,701 shares during the period. Meridian Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Sempra Energy by 10.5% in the first quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,898 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $421,000 after buying an additional 562 shares during the period. Finally, Independent Advisor Alliance raised its stake in shares of Sempra Energy by 10.2% in the first quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 23,309 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,663,000 after buying an additional 2,160 shares during the period. 89.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Sempra Energy

In other Sempra Energy news, EVP Caroline Ann Winn sold 5,114 shares of Sempra Energy stock in a transaction on 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 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 1,576 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 15,600 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,248,000. This represents a 9.18% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Sempra Energy Price Performance

NYSE SRE traded down $0.47 during trading on Monday, hitting $80.76. 738,287 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,550,009. 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 has a 12-month low of $61.90 and a 12-month high of $95.77. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $77.55 and a 200-day simple moving average of $75.66. The company has a market capitalization of $52.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.62.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 company had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.35 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.89 earnings per share. Sempra Energy's quarterly revenue was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Sempra Energy will post 4.76 EPS for the current year.

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.