Maple Brown Abbott Ltd Buys 609,386 Shares of Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE)

Key Points

• Maple Brown Abbott Ltd increased its stake in Sempra Energy by 85.7%, owning over 1.3 million shares, making it the firm's 7th largest holding.
• Sempra Energy reported a quarterly EPS of $0.89, exceeding analysts' expectations, although revenue dropped by 0.4% year-over-year.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.645, reflecting an annualized rate of 3.1% with a payout ratio of 62.32%.

Maple Brown Abbott Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 85.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 1,320,706 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 609,386 shares during the period. Sempra Energy accounts for approximately 6.4% of Maple Brown Abbott Ltd's holdings, making the stock its 7th largest position. Maple Brown Abbott Ltd owned about 0.20% of Sempra Energy worth $94,253,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of SRE. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in Sempra Energy during the first quarter worth approximately $192,130,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its holdings in Sempra Energy by 71.3% in the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 4,651,923 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $408,069,000 after acquiring an additional 1,936,865 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in Sempra Energy by 42.7% in the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,647,990 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $331,681,000 after acquiring an additional 1,391,433 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings 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 holdings in Sempra Energy by 12.4% in the 1st 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 period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.65% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Sempra Energy news, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 1,576 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total value of $126,080.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Caroline Ann Winn sold 5,114 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owned 39,380 shares in the company, valued at $3,229,553.80. This represents 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.

Sempra Energy Price Performance

NYSE:SRE traded down $0.23 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $81.99. The stock had a trading volume of 2,775,444 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,572,359. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $77.47 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $75.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $53.50 billion, a PE ratio of 19.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.48 and a quick ratio of 0.41. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.35 billion. Sempra Energy had a net margin of 20.28% and a return on equity of 8.42%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.89 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Sempra Energy will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SRE has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $88.00 price target (up from $87.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Sempra Energy from $72.00 to $71.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $80.00 price target (up from $70.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Sempra Energy from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $81.58.

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.