Sempra Energy $SRE Shares Purchased by Aptus Capital Advisors LLC

Key Points

• Aptus Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Sempra Energy by 145.7% in Q1, now owning 48,359 shares valued at approximately $3.45 million.
• Sempra Energy's stock saw a 2.0% increase, opening at $82.64, with a market capitalization of $53.92 billion.
• Analysts maintain a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average price target of $81.58, reflecting a mixed outlook from various firms like Barclays and Citigroup.

Aptus Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 145.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 48,359 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 28,678 shares during the quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC's holdings in Sempra Energy were worth $3,451,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in SRE. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sempra Energy in the 1st quarter worth approximately $192,130,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 worth $408,069,000 after acquiring an additional 1,936,865 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy by 42.7% in 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. lifted its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 64,238,102 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $4,584,032,000 after acquiring an additional 1,220,047 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy by 12.4% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 7,489,903 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $534,479,000 after acquiring an additional 823,663 shares during the last quarter. 89.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on SRE. Barclays reduced their target price 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. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Sempra Energy from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $88.00 target price (up from $87.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $80.00 price objective (up from $70.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $81.58.

Sempra Energy Stock Up 2.1%

Shares of NYSE SRE traded up $1.6940 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $82.8240. The company had a trading volume of 2,489,237 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,565,545. 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 50 day simple moving average of $78.23 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $75.74. The stock has a market cap of $54.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.01, a PEG ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.62. Sempra Energy has a 52-week low of $61.90 and a 52-week high of $95.77.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $3 billion for 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%. The company's revenue was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.89 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Sempra Energy will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Caroline Ann Winn sold 5,114 shares of the 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 owned 39,380 shares in the company, valued at $3,229,553.80. This represents a 11.49% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 1,576 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the senior vice president owned 15,600 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,248,000. This represents a 9.18% 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 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.