Sempra Energy $SRE Shares Sold by MetLife Investment Management LLC

Key Points

• MetLife Investment Management LLC reduced its stake in Sempra Energy by 1.9%, now holding 164,513 shares worth approximately $11.74 million after selling 3,134 shares in the first quarter.
• The company reported earnings per share (EPS) of $0.89, surpassing analysts’ expectations of $0.82, despite a slight year-over-year revenue decrease.
• Analysts have mixed ratings on Sempra Energy, with Citigroup maintaining a "neutral" rating and a price target increase to $80, while Morgan Stanley upgraded their rating to "overweight" with a target of $88.

MetLife Investment Management LLC decreased its position in shares of Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 1.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 164,513 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 3,134 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC's holdings in Sempra Energy were worth $11,740,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Mattson Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Sempra Energy in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Sempra Energy in the first quarter worth $38,000. Park Square Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Sempra Energy in the fourth quarter worth $41,000. Eastern Bank raised 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 worth $41,000 after buying an additional 246 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cary Street Partners Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Sempra Energy in the fourth quarter worth $56,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.65% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Caroline Ann Winn sold 5,114 shares of Sempra Energy stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.01, for a total value of $419,399.14. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 39,380 shares in the company, valued at $3,229,553.80. This trade represents a 11.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 1,576 shares of Sempra Energy 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 completion of 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.27% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SRE has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Sempra Energy from $71.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday. 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. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target 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, Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of Sempra Energy in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Sempra Energy currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $82.33.

Sempra Energy Stock Performance

SRE stock traded down $0.73 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $81.54. 2,535,020 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,531,272. The firm has a market cap of $53.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.69, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.62. 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's fifty day simple moving average is $78.85 and its 200-day simple moving average is $75.73. 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 released 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 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 revenue was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.89 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Sempra Energy will post 4.76 earnings per share 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.