Sempra Energy $SRE Holdings Cut by Aventail Capital Group LP

Aventail Capital Group LP decreased its stake in Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 72.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 106,909 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 287,589 shares during the quarter. Aventail Capital Group LP's holdings in Sempra Energy were worth $9,439,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SRE. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Sempra Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $914,924,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy by 106.3% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 10,428,007 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $938,325,000 after purchasing an additional 5,374,277 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy by 9.2% during the 3rd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 54,071,206 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $4,865,115,000 after purchasing an additional 4,572,312 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy by 17.0% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 22,330,091 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,971,524,000 after purchasing an additional 3,250,783 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy by 40.1% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 10,419,115 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $937,512,000 after purchasing an additional 2,984,409 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.65% of the company's stock.

Sempra Energy Stock Performance

Shares of SRE opened at $90.36 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $59.07 billion, a PE ratio of 30.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.56. Sempra Energy has a one year low of $73.18 and a one year high of $101.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.69 and a quick ratio of 1.66. The company's fifty day moving average price is $92.68 and its 200 day moving average price is $91.71.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.51 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.51. The firm had revenue of $3.66 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.10 billion. Sempra Energy had a net margin of 14.31% and a return on equity of 8.20%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.44 EPS. Sempra Energy has set its FY 2027 guidance at 5.100-5.700 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 4.870-5.370 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Sempra Energy will post 5.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Sempra Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 25th will be issued a $0.6575 dividend. This represents a $2.63 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 25th. Sempra Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 89.15%.

Insider Activity at Sempra Energy

In other news, EVP Justin Christopher Bird sold 1,128 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.69, for a total transaction of $109,066.32. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 21,632 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,091,598.08. The trade was a 4.96% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Pablo Ferrero sold 2,600 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.53, for a total transaction of $232,778.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 15,423 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,380,821.19. The trade was a 14.43% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 15,028 shares of company stock worth $1,370,273. 0.31% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on SRE. UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating and set a $100.00 price target (up from $96.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a report on Friday, March 6th. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Sempra Energy in a report on Monday, April 20th. Barclays restated an "overweight" rating and set a $105.00 price target (up from $95.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Truist Financial set a $104.00 price target on shares of Sempra Energy and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 18th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on shares of Sempra Energy from $105.00 to $103.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $102.67.

Sempra Energy Profile

Sempra Energy is a San Diego–based energy infrastructure company that develops, owns and operates businesses delivering electricity and natural gas. Its operations include regulated utility services that provide electric and gas distribution to residential, commercial and industrial customers, as well as non‑regulated infrastructure businesses that develop and manage large-scale energy assets.

The company's product and service portfolio spans electricity and natural gas delivery, transmission and storage, liquefied natural gas (LNG) facilities, power generation and electric transmission projects.

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