Sempra Energy $SRE Position Increased by Aberdeen Group plc

Key Points

• Aberdeen Group plc increased its stake in Sempra Energy by 5.1%, acquiring an additional 30,842 shares, bringing its total holdings to 634,544 shares valued at approximately $48 million.
• Sempra Energy reported a quarterly earnings per share of $0.89, exceeding analyst expectations of $0.82, despite a slight revenue decline compared to the previous year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.645 per share, with a yield of 2.9% and a payout ratio of 62.32%, set to be paid on October 15th.

Aberdeen Group plc raised its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 5.1% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 634,544 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 30,842 shares during the period. Aberdeen Group plc owned about 0.10% of Sempra Energy worth $48,079,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pingora Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Sempra Energy by 48.3% during the first quarter. Pingora Partners LLC now owns 430 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. boosted its holdings in Sempra Energy by 230.8% during the second quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 430 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Sempra Energy during the first quarter worth approximately $38,000. Eastern Bank boosted its holdings in Sempra Energy by 73.7% during the first quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 580 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 246 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barrett & Company Inc. bought a new stake in Sempra Energy during the second quarter worth approximately $51,000. 89.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on SRE shares. Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating and set a $80.00 target price (up from $70.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a report on Monday, August 4th. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Sempra Energy from $86.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 24th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Sempra Energy from $71.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 26th. Evercore ISI set a $105.00 price objective on shares of Sempra Energy and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, October 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Sempra Energy in a research note on Wednesday. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Sempra Energy presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $86.09.

Insider Activity at Sempra Energy

In related news, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 1,576 shares of the business'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 transaction of $126,080.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 15,600 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,248,000. The trade was a 9.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Caroline Ann Winn sold 5,114 shares of the company'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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 39,380 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,229,553.80. This trade represents a 11.49% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 49,987 shares of company stock worth $4,267,870. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Sempra Energy Stock Performance

NYSE:SRE opened at $90.15 on Friday. Sempra Energy has a 1 year low of $61.90 and a 1 year high of $95.77. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $84.32 and its 200 day simple moving average is $78.08. The company has a current ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $58.82 billion, a PE ratio of 21.78, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.66.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last posted 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 business had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.35 billion. Sempra Energy had a net margin of 20.28% and a return on equity of 8.42%. Sempra Energy's revenue for the quarter was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.89 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Sempra Energy will post 4.76 EPS for the current year.

Sempra Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.645 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 1st. This represents a $2.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. Sempra Energy's payout ratio is currently 62.32%.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding SRE? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.