Panagora Asset Management Inc. Acquires 11,811 Shares of Sempra Energy $SRE

Key Points

• Panagora Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Sempra Energy by 46.0% in the first quarter, now owning 37,501 shares valued at approximately $2.676 million.
• Sempra Energy reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $0.89, exceeding expectations of $0.82, with revenue of $3 billion, slightly missing analyst estimates.
• Wall Street analysts have given Sempra Energy a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with a price target of $82.33, indicating potential growth in stock value.

Panagora Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 46.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 37,501 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 11,811 shares during the quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Sempra Energy were worth $2,676,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of SRE. Mattson Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Sempra Energy in the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Park Square Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sempra Energy during the fourth quarter valued at about $41,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sempra Energy in the 1st quarter worth approximately $38,000. Eastern Bank boosted its stake in Sempra Energy by 73.7% during the 1st quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 580 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 246 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cary Street Partners Financial LLC acquired a new position in Sempra Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $56,000. 89.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on SRE shares. Citigroup reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $80.00 price objective (up previously from $70.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Sempra Energy from $71.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 26th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Sempra Energy from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of Sempra Energy in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $82.33.

Sempra Energy Stock Performance

SRE stock traded down $1.06 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $81.06. The stock had a trading volume of 4,311,433 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,051,330. Sempra Energy has a 52 week low of $61.90 and a 52 week high of $95.77. 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 stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $79.68 and a 200 day simple moving average of $75.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $52.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.58, a P/E/G ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.65.

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. Sempra Energy had a net margin of 20.28% and a return on equity of 8.42%. The company had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.35 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.89 EPS. The business's revenue was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Sempra Energy will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Caroline Ann Winn sold 5,114 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 14th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $3,229,553.80. This trade represents a 11.49% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through 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 value of $126,080.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 15,600 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,248,000. This represents a 9.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

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.