Russell Investments Group Ltd. Grows Stake in Sempra Energy $SRE

Key Points

• Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its holdings in Sempra Energy by 30.7%, owning 688,384 shares valued at approximately $49.07 million.
• Sempra Energy reported earnings of $0.89 per share for the last quarter, surpassing estimates by $0.07, despite a decrease in revenue compared to the previous year.
• Analysts have mixed ratings on Sempra Energy, with an average target price of $81.58, including several analysts issuing "buy" and "hold" ratings.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its holdings in Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 30.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 688,384 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 161,614 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned 0.11% of Sempra Energy worth $49,071,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mattson Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in Sempra Energy during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Park Square Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Sempra Energy during the fourth quarter valued at $41,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Sempra Energy during the 1st quarter valued at $38,000. Eastern Bank boosted its stake in Sempra Energy by 73.7% in the first quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 580 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 246 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cary Street Partners Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Sempra Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $56,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.65% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on SRE shares. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Sempra Energy from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $88.00 price target (up previously from $87.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Barclays reduced their price objective 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, Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $80.00 price target (up previously from $70.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a report on Monday, August 4th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $81.58.

Sempra Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:SRE traded down $0.67 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $80.56. The company had a trading volume of 802,668 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,550,230. 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 fifty day moving average of $77.55 and a two-hundred day moving average of $75.66. The company has a market cap of $52.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.48, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.62. Sempra Energy has a 12-month low of $61.90 and a 12-month high of $95.77.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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 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 company earned $0.89 EPS. Sempra Energy's revenue for the quarter was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Sempra Energy will post 4.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sempra Energy

In other Sempra Energy news, EVP Caroline Ann Winn sold 5,114 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.01, for a total value of $419,399.14. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 39,380 shares in the company, valued at $3,229,553.80. The trade was a 11.49% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 1,576 shares of Sempra Energy stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total value of $126,080.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 15,600 shares in the company, valued at $1,248,000. This trade represents a 9.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

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.