Sempra Energy $SRE Shares Bought by Credit Agricole S A

Key Points

• Credit Agricole S A increased its stake in Sempra Energy by 36.5%, now holding 332,915 shares valued at approximately $23.76 million.
• Sempra Energy reported $0.89 earnings per share for the last quarter, surpassing the consensus estimate of $0.82, while revenue fell slightly compared to the previous year.
• Wall Street analysts maintain a Moderate Buy rating with an average price target of $81.58 for Sempra Energy shares.

Credit Agricole S A boosted its stake in shares of Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 36.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 332,915 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 89,101 shares during the quarter. Credit Agricole S A owned 0.05% of Sempra Energy worth $23,757,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mattson Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in Sempra Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Park Square Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Sempra Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $41,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Sempra Energy during the first quarter worth about $38,000. Eastern Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy by 73.7% in the first 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 purchased a new stake in shares of Sempra Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $56,000. 89.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Sempra Energy Stock Performance

Shares of SRE opened at $82.6350 on Wednesday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $53.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.96, a PEG ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.62. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $77.82 and its 200 day simple moving average is $75.69. Sempra Energy has a 1 year low of $61.90 and a 1 year high of $95.77.

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 the consensus estimate 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 quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.89 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Sempra Energy will post 4.76 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on SRE. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $80.00 price target (up previously from $70.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a report on Monday, August 4th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $88.00 price target (up previously from $87.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Sempra Energy from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target 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. Seven 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, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $81.58.

Insider Activity at Sempra Energy

In related news, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 1,576 shares of the company'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 transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 39,380 shares in the company, valued at $3,229,553.80. The trade was a 11.49% decrease in their position. 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.

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