Sempra Energy $SRE Shares Sold by Clearbridge Investments LLC

Key Points

• Clearbridge Investments LLC cut its Sempra Energy stake by 44.8% in the fourth quarter, selling nearly 4.9 million shares. It still held about 6.0 million shares, valued at roughly $532 million.
• Insider activity has leaned toward selling, with CFO Karen L. Sedgwick and director Pablo Ferrero both trimming holdings in recent months. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold more stock than they bought.
• Analyst sentiment remains generally positive, with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $102.67. Sempra also reported quarterly EPS in line with estimates, though revenue came in below expectations.

Clearbridge Investments LLC lowered its position in shares of Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 44.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 6,026,893 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 4,899,707 shares during the quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC owned about 0.92% of Sempra Energy worth $532,114,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SRE. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 76,734,070 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $6,774,907,000 after buying an additional 1,008,476 shares during the period. Capital International Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy by 9.2% in the 3rd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 54,071,206 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $4,865,115,000 after buying an additional 4,572,312 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 34,986,169 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,148,055,000 after buying an additional 606,101 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,298,845 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,256,592,000 after buying an additional 116,554 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy by 106.3% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 10,428,007 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $938,325,000 after buying an additional 5,374,277 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.65% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Karen L. Sedgwick sold 4,872 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.58, for a total value of $451,049.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 39,029 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,613,304.82. This represents a 11.10% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Pablo Ferrero sold 2,600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.53, for a total value of $232,778.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 15,423 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,380,821.19. The trade was a 14.43% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders have acquired 6,192 shares of company stock worth $576,979 and have sold 13,439 shares worth $1,243,713. 0.31% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on SRE. Wall Street Zen cut Sempra Energy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Sunday, May 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Sempra Energy from $98.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 18th. Truist Financial set a $104.00 price objective on Sempra Energy and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 18th. Morgan Stanley set a $104.00 price objective on Sempra Energy and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Barclays reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $105.00 price objective (up from $95.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $102.67.

Sempra Energy Stock Performance

NYSE SRE opened at $91.51 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $59.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.02, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 0.56. Sempra Energy has a twelve month low of $73.06 and a twelve month high of $101.04. The company has a current ratio of 1.69, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $93.68 and a 200 day moving average of $91.80.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.51 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.51. The company had revenue of $3.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.10 billion. Sempra Energy had a return on equity of 8.20% and a net margin of 14.31%.Sempra Energy's quarterly revenue was down 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $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. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Sempra Energy will post 5.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Energy Announces Dividend

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

About Sempra Energy

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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