Sempra Energy $SRE Shares Sold by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Key Points

• Principal Financial Group trimmed its Sempra stake by 6.6%, selling 120,005 shares and now holds 1,688,284 shares (~0.26%) worth about $149.06 million, while institutional investors own roughly 89.65% of the stock.
• Sempra beat quarterly EPS ($1.28 vs. $1.12) despite slightly lower revenue year-over-year, and raised its quarterly dividend to $0.6575 (annualized $2.63, yield 2.8%) with a high payout ratio of 95.29%.
• Wall Street has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” with a $102.67 price target; the stock trades near $93.69, has a $61.21 billion market cap and a P/E of 33.95 (52-week range $73.06–$101.04).

Principal Financial Group Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 6.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,688,284 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 120,005 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.26% of Sempra Energy worth $149,059,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of SRE. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Sempra Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Ares Financial Consulting LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sempra Energy during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Activest Wealth Management grew its position in shares of Sempra Energy by 74.6% during the third quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 391 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. Board of the Pension Protection Fund bought a new stake in shares of Sempra Energy in the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Salomon & Ludwin LLC increased its stake in shares of Sempra Energy by 88.8% in the fourth quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 406 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 191 shares during the last quarter. 89.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sempra Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SRE opened at $93.69 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $61.21 billion, a PE ratio of 33.95, a P/E/G ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 0.60. Sempra Energy has a fifty-two week low of $73.06 and a fifty-two week high of $101.04. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $95.15 and a 200 day simple moving average of $92.01. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $1.28 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $3.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.82 billion. Sempra Energy had a return on equity of 8.22% and a net margin of 13.27%.The business's revenue was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.50 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Sempra Energy will post 5.15 EPS for the current year.

Sempra Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 19th were given a dividend of $0.6575 per share. This is an increase from Sempra Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. This represents a $2.63 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 19th. Sempra Energy's payout ratio is currently 95.29%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Cynthia J. Warner purchased 2,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were bought at an average price of $92.95 per share, for a total transaction of $232,375.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 11,275 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,048,011.25. This trade represents a 28.49% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Dyan Z. Wold sold 1,539 shares of Sempra Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.38, for a total value of $146,789.82. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders have acquired 6,192 shares of company stock worth $576,979 and have sold 7,539 shares worth $706,906. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on SRE shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Sempra Energy in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $118.00 price target on shares of Sempra Energy in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $100.00 price target (up from $96.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a research note on Friday, March 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Sempra Energy from $98.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $104.00 target price on Sempra Energy and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Sempra Energy currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $102.67.

Sempra Energy 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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