Sempra Energy $SRE Shares Purchased by Allstate Corp

Key Points

• Allstate Corp more than doubled its stake in Sempra Energy in the fourth quarter, boosting holdings by 111.3% to 49,010 shares worth about $4.33 million.
• Wall Street sentiment remains constructive: analysts have a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating on Sempra, with an average price target of $102.67 and several firms recently reaffirming bullish targets.
• Sempra reported Q1 earnings that matched EPS expectations at $1.51, though revenue came in below estimates; the company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.6575 per share, yielding about 2.9%.

Allstate Corp boosted its position in Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 111.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 49,010 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 25,812 shares during the period. Allstate Corp's holdings in Sempra Energy were worth $4,327,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO increased its holdings in Sempra Energy by 1.7% in the third quarter. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO now owns 6,911 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $622,000 after buying an additional 113 shares in the last quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Sempra Energy by 1.4% in the third quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,587 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $773,000 after buying an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton increased its holdings in Sempra Energy by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 5,191 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $458,000 after buying an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. Advisor OS LLC increased its holdings in Sempra Energy by 1.2% in the third quarter. Advisor OS LLC now owns 9,681 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $871,000 after buying an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Silvia Mccoll Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Sempra Energy by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Silvia Mccoll Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,045 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $799,000 after buying an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.65% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Barclays reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $105.00 target price (up from $95.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of Sempra Energy from $105.00 to $103.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 11th. UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $100.00 target price (up from $96.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a report on Friday, March 6th. Truist Financial set a $104.00 price objective on shares of Sempra Energy and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $118.00 price objective on shares of Sempra Energy in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $102.67.

Insider Transactions at Sempra Energy

In related news, Director Jennifer M. Kirk purchased 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 12th. The shares were bought at an average price of $93.44 per share, for a total transaction of $93,440.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 1,000 shares in the company, valued at $93,440. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Dyan Z. Wold sold 1,539 shares of Sempra Energy stock in a transaction on Monday, March 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.38, for a total transaction of $146,789.82. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 4,633 shares in the company, valued at approximately $441,895.54. This trade represents a 24.94% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders bought 6,192 shares of company stock worth $576,979 and sold 13,439 shares worth $1,243,713. Insiders own 0.31% of the company's stock.

Sempra Energy Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of SRE opened at $91.70 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $59.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.50 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.69 and a quick ratio of 1.66. Sempra Energy has a 1-year low of $73.06 and a 1-year high of $101.04. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $94.46 and a 200-day simple moving average of $91.96.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.51 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.51. The firm had revenue of $3.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.10 billion. Sempra Energy had a net margin of 14.31% and a return on equity of 8.20%. Sempra Energy's revenue for the quarter was down 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.44 EPS. Sempra Energy has set its FY 2027 guidance at 5.100-5.700 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 4.870-5.370 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Sempra Energy will post 5.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 25th will be paid a $0.6575 dividend. This represents a $2.63 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 25th. Sempra Energy's payout ratio is presently 89.15%.

Sempra Energy Company Profile

Sempra Energy is a San Diego–based energy infrastructure company that develops, owns and operates businesses delivering electricity and natural gas. Its operations include regulated utility services that provide electric and gas distribution to residential, commercial and industrial customers, as well as non‑regulated infrastructure businesses that develop and manage large-scale energy assets.

The company's product and service portfolio spans electricity and natural gas delivery, transmission and storage, liquefied natural gas (LNG) facilities, power generation and electric transmission projects.

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