Norinchukin Bank The Grows Stake in Sempra Energy $SRE

Key Points

• Norinchukin Bank raised its stake in Sempra Energy by 16.2%, owning 34,990 shares valued at approximately $2.5 million after acquiring additional shares in the first quarter.
• Sempra Energy's recent earnings report showed an EPS of $0.89, beating estimates, but revenue declined by 0.4% year-over-year to $3 billion.
• Brokerage analysts have given Sempra Energy an average rating of "Moderate Buy", with price targets ranging from $71.00 to $88.00.

Norinchukin Bank The grew its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 16.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 34,990 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 4,887 shares during the period. Norinchukin Bank The's holdings in Sempra Energy were worth $2,497,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of SRE. Mattson Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sempra Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sempra Energy during the 1st quarter valued at $38,000. Park Square Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sempra Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $41,000. Eastern Bank grew its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 246 shares during the period. Finally, Cary Street Partners Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sempra Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $56,000. Institutional investors own 89.65% of the company's stock.

Sempra Energy Price Performance

Shares of Sempra Energy stock traded up $0.55 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $82.33. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,263,520 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,485,327. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $78.54 and a 200-day moving average price of $75.69. Sempra Energy has a one year low of $61.90 and a one year high of $95.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.48 and a quick ratio of 0.41. The stock has a market cap of $53.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.89, a P/E/G ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.62.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.07. The company 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 firm's revenue was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.89 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Sempra Energy will post 4.76 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

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 transaction of $419,399.14. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 39,380 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,229,553.80. This represents a 11.49% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 1,576 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $1,248,000. The trade was 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.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on SRE shares. Citigroup reissued 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. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Sempra Energy in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Sempra Energy from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $82.33.

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.