Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) Shares Purchased by SG Americas Securities LLC

SG Americas Securities LLC grew its position in Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 462.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 10,548 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 8,671 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC's holdings in Sempra Energy were worth $753,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new stake in Sempra Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,880,000. Principal Securities Inc. increased its holdings in Sempra Energy by 11.7% during the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 9,479 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $831,000 after purchasing an additional 990 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP increased its holdings in Sempra Energy by 41.2% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 11,484 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $951,000 after purchasing an additional 3,349 shares during the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp increased its holdings in Sempra Energy by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 81,471 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $7,147,000 after purchasing an additional 3,959 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. increased its holdings in Sempra Energy by 29.7% during the 4th quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 35,833 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,148,000 after purchasing an additional 8,208 shares during the last quarter. 89.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Argus downgraded Sempra Energy from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Citigroup lowered their price target on Sempra Energy from $93.00 to $70.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on Sempra Energy from $77.00 to $75.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $88.00 price target (up from $87.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Sempra Energy from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Sempra Energy has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $80.83.

Sempra Energy Trading Up 0.3%

NYSE:SRE opened at $74.27 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. Sempra Energy has a 1-year low of $61.90 and a 1-year high of $95.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.64. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $75.12 and a 200 day simple moving average of $77.92.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The utilities provider reported $1.44 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.32 by $0.12. Sempra Energy had a return on equity of 8.55% and a net margin of 22.15%. The firm had revenue of $3.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.90 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.34 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Sempra Energy will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Sempra Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 26th will be given a dividend of $0.645 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 26th. This represents a $2.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.47%. Sempra Energy's payout ratio is presently 56.70%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Diana L. Day sold 8,015 shares of Sempra Energy stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.26, for a total transaction of $595,193.90. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 16,969 shares in the company, valued at $1,260,117.94. The trade was a 32.08% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Justin Christopher Bird sold 4,817 shares of Sempra Energy stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.23, for a total value of $343,114.91. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 19,778 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,408,786.94. This represents a 19.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

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.

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