Sempra Energy $SRE Stake Raised by Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH

Key Points

• Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH raised its stake in Sempra Energy by 3.3% in Q4 to 339,671 shares, valued at about $30.08 million (roughly 0.05% of the company).
• Sempra beat quarterly EPS estimates ($1.28 vs. $1.12) while revenue slightly missed ($3.75B vs. $3.82B); the company also increased its quarterly dividend to $0.6575 (annualized $2.63, ~2.8% yield) with a payout ratio of 95.3%.
• Analysts give Sempra a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average target of $102.67; institutional investors hold 89.65% of the stock and insiders were net sellers over the past 90 days.

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH grew its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 3.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 339,671 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 10,932 shares during the period. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH owned 0.05% of Sempra Energy worth $30,082,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in SRE. Salomon & Ludwin LLC raised its holdings in Sempra Energy by 88.8% during the fourth quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 406 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares in the last quarter. Busey Bank raised its holdings in Sempra Energy by 8.2% during the fourth quarter. Busey Bank now owns 4,685 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $414,000 after purchasing an additional 354 shares in the last quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. raised its holdings in Sempra Energy by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 513,153 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $45,296,000 after purchasing an additional 24,314 shares in the last quarter. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY raised its holdings in Sempra Energy by 34.0% during the fourth quarter. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY now owns 159,597 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $14,091,000 after purchasing an additional 40,473 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sterling Investment Counsel LLC bought a new stake in Sempra Energy during the fourth quarter worth approximately $213,000. Institutional investors own 89.65% of the company's stock.

Sempra Energy Price Performance

NYSE SRE opened at $93.98 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $61.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.05, a P/E/G ratio of 3.49 and a beta of 0.67. Sempra Energy has a 1 year low of $72.71 and a 1 year high of $101.04. The business's fifty day moving average is $95.15 and its two-hundred day moving average is $91.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 1.59.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $1.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.16. Sempra Energy had a net margin of 13.27% and a return on equity of 8.22%. The firm had revenue of $3.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.82 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.50 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Sempra Energy will post 5.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Energy Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Justin Christopher Bird sold 1,128 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.69, for a total transaction of $109,066.32. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 21,632 shares in the company, valued at $2,091,598.08. The trade was a 4.96% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Karen L. Sedgwick sold 4,872 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.58, for a total transaction of $451,049.76. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 39,029 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,613,304.82. This represents a 11.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders bought 6,192 shares of company stock worth $576,979 and sold 7,539 shares worth $706,906. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on SRE. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Sempra Energy in a report on Monday. Wall Street Zen cut Sempra Energy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Sunday, March 29th. Truist Financial set a $108.00 target price on Sempra Energy and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Sempra Energy from $98.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 18th. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $100.00 price target (up from $96.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a report on Friday, March 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $102.67.

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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