Gulf International Bank UK Ltd Sells 13,210 Shares of Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE)

Key Points

• Gulf International Bank UK Ltd reduced its stake in Sempra Energy by 26.8%, selling 13,210 shares and holding 36,067 shares now valued at approximately $2.57 million.
• Sempra Energy's stock price has seen a modest increase of 0.2%, with a current market cap of $53.65 billion and a PE ratio of 19.86.
• Analyst ratings are mixed, with six firmsseven giving a buy rating, as the stock has an average target price of $81.58.

Gulf International Bank UK Ltd lowered its position in shares of Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 26.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 36,067 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 13,210 shares during the period. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd's holdings in Sempra Energy were worth $2,573,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sempra Energy during the first quarter worth about $192,130,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its position in Sempra Energy by 71.3% during the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 4,651,923 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $408,069,000 after buying an additional 1,936,865 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in Sempra Energy by 42.7% during the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,647,990 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $331,681,000 after acquiring an additional 1,391,433 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Sempra Energy by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 64,238,102 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $4,584,032,000 after acquiring an additional 1,220,047 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Sempra Energy by 12.4% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 7,489,903 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $534,479,000 after acquiring an additional 823,663 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.65% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 1,576 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 23rd. The stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at $1,248,000. This represents a 9.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 39,380 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,229,553.80. The trade was a 11.49% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SRE has been the topic of several analyst reports. Barclays reduced 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 note on Thursday, July 10th. Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $80.00 price target (up previously from $70.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a research note on Monday, August 4th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Sempra Energy from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $88.00 target price (up from $87.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $81.58.

Sempra Energy Stock Down 0.7%

NYSE:SRE traded down $0.61 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $81.27. The company had a trading volume of 4,067,223 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,599,781. Sempra Energy has a twelve month low of $61.90 and a twelve month high of $95.77. The company has a quick ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. The firm has a market cap of $53.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.63, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.62. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $77.55 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $75.71.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.07. Sempra Energy had a return on equity of 8.42% and a net margin of 20.28%. The company had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.35 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.89 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Sempra Energy will post 4.76 earnings per share 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.