AQR Capital Management LLC Buys 187,777 Shares of Sempra Energy $SRE

Key Points

• AQR Capital Management LLC significantly increased its stake in Sempra Energy by 351.9% in the 1st quarter, growing its holdings to 241,144 shares valued at approximately $16.9 million.
• Insider transactions included the sale of shares by key executives, with EVP Caroline Ann Winn and SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque reducing their holdings, indicative of potential shifts in confidence within the company.
• Sempra Energy reported earnings per share (EPS) of $0.89 for the last quarter, exceeding expectations, although its revenue was slightly below estimates at $3 billion, representing a 0.4% decline year-over-year.

AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 351.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 241,144 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 187,777 shares during the quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC's holdings in Sempra Energy were worth $16,911,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec grew its stake in shares of Sempra Energy by 3.3% during the 1st quarter. Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec now owns 39,183 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,796,000 after acquiring an additional 1,266 shares in the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Sempra Energy by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 357,181 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $25,488,000 after acquiring an additional 4,974 shares in the last quarter. GW Henssler & Associates Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Sempra Energy by 5.2% during the 1st quarter. GW Henssler & Associates Ltd. now owns 342,183 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $24,418,000 after acquiring an additional 16,946 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC grew its stake in shares of Sempra Energy by 103.4% during the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 5,957 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $425,000 after acquiring an additional 3,029 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada grew its stake in shares of Sempra Energy by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 2,346,798 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $167,468,000 after acquiring an additional 8,459 shares in the last quarter. 89.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Sempra Energy Trading Up 0.6%

NYSE:SRE traded up $0.49 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $83.96. 3,204,840 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,332,113. The company has a fifty day moving average of $80.14 and a 200 day moving average of $75.52. Sempra Energy has a 12 month low of $61.90 and a 12 month high of $95.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 0.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $54.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.28, a PEG ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.65.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last issued 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. The business 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 quarterly revenue was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.89 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Sempra Energy will post 4.76 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Barclays increased their price objective on Sempra Energy from $71.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 26th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of Sempra Energy in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $80.00 price target (up previously from $70.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a report on Monday, August 4th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $81.27.

Insider Transactions at Sempra Energy

In related news, EVP Caroline Ann Winn sold 5,114 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.01, for a total value of $419,399.14. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 39,380 shares in the company, valued at $3,229,553.80. The trade was a 11.49% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 1,576 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 23rd. The stock was 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.27% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.