Sempra Energy $SRE Shares Acquired by Bank of America Corp DE

Key Points

• Bank of America increased its Sempra Energy stake by 16.1% in the first quarter, adding 1.44 million shares to reach 10.39 million shares valued at approximately $1.01 billion. Institutional investors collectively own 89.65% of Sempra’s stock.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $104.23, compared with shares trading around $88.71.
• Sempra reported quarterly EPS of $1.51, matching estimates, while revenue fell 3.9% year over year to $3.65 billion. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.6575, equivalent to an annualized yield of about 3.0%.

Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in shares of Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 16.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,385,174 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 1,441,981 shares during the quarter. Bank of America Corp DE owned about 1.59% of Sempra Energy worth $1,009,127,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Sempra Energy during the fourth quarter worth $914,924,000. Morgan Stanley increased its stake in Sempra Energy by 17.0% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 22,330,091 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,971,524,000 after buying an additional 3,250,783 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in Sempra Energy by 40.1% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 10,419,115 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $937,512,000 after buying an additional 2,984,409 shares during the period. National Pension Service raised its position in Sempra Energy by 246.4% during the 4th quarter. National Pension Service now owns 2,826,999 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $249,596,000 after buying an additional 2,010,853 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp raised its position in Sempra Energy by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 36,810,449 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,273,460,000 after buying an additional 1,824,280 shares during the last quarter. 89.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on SRE shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Sempra Energy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, July 25th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $101.00 price target on shares of Sempra Energy in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $118.00 price objective on shares of Sempra Energy in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $108.00 target price on shares of Sempra Energy in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Truist Financial set a $104.00 target price on Sempra Energy and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Sempra Energy has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $104.23.

Insider Activity at Sempra Energy

In other Sempra Energy news, Director Pablo Ferrero sold 2,600 shares of Sempra Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.53, for a total value of $232,778.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 15,423 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,380,821.19. The trade was a 14.43% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Diana L. Day sold 3,300 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.13, for a total value of $304,029.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 22,870 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,107,013.10. This trade represents a 12.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 13,900 shares of company stock valued at $1,261,207. Company insiders own 0.31% of the company's stock.

Sempra Energy Trading Down 1.0%

Shares of SRE opened at $88.71 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.69 and a quick ratio of 1.66. Sempra Energy has a 1-year low of $78.97 and a 1-year high of $101.04. The stock has a market cap of $57.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.56. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $91.77 and a 200-day simple moving average of $92.49.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.51. The firm had revenue of $3.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.10 billion. Sempra Energy had a return on equity of 8.20% and a net margin of 14.31%.Sempra Energy's revenue was down 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $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. Equities analysts forecast that Sempra Energy will post 5.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 25th were given a $0.6575 dividend. This represents a $2.63 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 25th. Sempra Energy's payout ratio is currently 89.15%.

About Sempra Energy

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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