Sempra Energy $SRE Shares Bought by UniSuper Management Pty Ltd

Key Points

• UniSuper Management Pty Ltd increased its stake in Sempra Energy by 11.5% in the first quarter, holding 54,331 shares valued at approximately $3.88 million.
• Sempra Energy has received a mix of ratings from analysts, with an average target price of $82.33 and seven analysts recommending a Buy rating.
• The company reported earnings of $0.89 per share for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations of $0.82, despite a slight decline in quarterly revenue year-over-year.

UniSuper Management Pty Ltd raised its position in Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 11.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 54,331 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 5,600 shares during the quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd's holdings in Sempra Energy were worth $3,877,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of SRE. Mattson Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in Sempra Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Pingora Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Sempra Energy by 48.3% in the 1st quarter. Pingora Partners LLC now owns 430 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Sempra Energy in the 1st quarter valued at about $38,000. Park Square Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Sempra Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $41,000. Finally, Eastern Bank boosted its holdings in Sempra Energy by 73.7% in 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 during the last quarter. 89.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SRE has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $80.00 target price (up from $70.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a report on Monday, August 4th. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Sempra Energy in a report on Thursday, August 21st. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Sempra Energy from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Sempra Energy from $71.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 26th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Sempra Energy has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $82.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Sempra Energy news, EVP Caroline Ann Winn sold 5,114 shares of the 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 39,380 shares in the company, valued at $3,229,553.80. This represents a 11.49% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 1,576 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total transaction of $126,080.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 15,600 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,248,000. This trade represents a 9.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.27% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Sempra Energy Stock Performance

Shares of SRE stock opened at $79.44 on Tuesday. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $79.76 and its 200-day moving average price is $75.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 0.48. Sempra Energy has a one year low of $61.90 and a one year high of $95.77. The firm has a market cap of $51.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.19, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.65.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.35 billion. Sempra Energy had a net margin of 20.28% and a return on equity of 8.42%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.89 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Sempra Energy will post 4.76 EPS for the current year.

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.

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