Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) Stock Holdings Raised by Invesco Ltd.

Key Points

• Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in Sempra Energy by 12.4%, owning a total of 7,489,903 shares, valued at approximately $534.5 million.
• Sempra Energy reported $0.89 earnings per share for the last quarter, exceeding analyst expectations, despite revenues slightly declining year-over-year.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.645, reflecting an annualized yield of 3.2% and a payout ratio of 56.70%.

Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 12.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 7,489,903 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 823,663 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. owned 1.15% of Sempra Energy worth $534,479,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of SRE. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Sempra Energy by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 10,008 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $877,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares during the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Sempra Energy by 938.2% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 29,474 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,585,000 after purchasing an additional 26,635 shares during the last quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. increased its position in shares of Sempra Energy by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 302,003 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $26,488,000 after purchasing an additional 16,048 shares during the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Sempra Energy by 8.6% in the 4th quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 34,033 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,985,000 after purchasing an additional 2,696 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sempra Energy during the 4th quarter valued at about $528,000. Institutional investors own 89.65% of the company's stock.

Sempra Energy Trading Down 1.0%

Sempra Energy stock opened at $81.74 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $77.08 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $75.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $53.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.74, a PEG ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.62. Sempra Energy has a 52-week low of $61.90 and a 52-week 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.

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

Sempra Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 26th were paid a $0.645 dividend. This represents a $2.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 26th. Sempra Energy's dividend payout ratio is currently 56.70%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Diana L. Day sold 8,015 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.26, for a total value of $595,193.90. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 16,969 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,260,117.94. This represents a 32.08% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 1,576 shares of the business'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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 15,600 shares in the company, valued at $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. Corporate insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on SRE shares. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $88.00 price objective (up previously from $87.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Sempra Energy from $72.00 to $71.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on shares of Sempra Energy from $77.00 to $75.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $80.00 price objective (up previously from $70.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Sempra Energy from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $81.58.

About Sempra Energy

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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