Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ Reduces Holdings in Sempra Energy $SRE

Key Points

• Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ reduced its holdings in Sempra Energy by 2.6%, now owning 201,566 shares valued at approximately $14.4 million.
• Sempra Energy has received various ratings from analysts, including a price objective increase from Citigroup to $80.00 and from BMO Capital Markets to $81.00, with an overall consensus rating of "Moderate Buy."
• In its latest earnings report, Sempra Energy posted $0.89 EPS, exceeding estimates, but reported a slight revenue decline year-over-year.

Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ decreased its position in Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 2.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 201,566 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 5,309 shares during the quarter. Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ's holdings in Sempra Energy were worth $14,384,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of SRE. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Sempra Energy by 1.9% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 64,238,102 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $4,584,032,000 after purchasing an additional 1,220,047 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of Sempra Energy by 26.8% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 48,686,047 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,474,236,000 after buying an additional 10,278,893 shares in the last quarter. Newport Trust Company LLC increased its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Newport Trust Company LLC now owns 13,331,160 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $951,312,000 after buying an additional 41,104 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in shares of Sempra Energy by 4.0% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 7,520,600 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $536,671,000 after buying an additional 291,026 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy by 12.4% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 7,489,903 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $534,479,000 after acquiring an additional 823,663 shares during the last quarter. 89.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Sempra Energy Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of Sempra Energy stock traded up $0.31 on Tuesday, reaching $82.87. The stock had a trading volume of 4,127,143 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,476,956. Sempra Energy has a 1 year low of $61.90 and a 1 year high of $95.77. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $79.15 and a 200 day moving average price of $75.61. The company has a quick ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $54.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.65.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.07. Sempra Energy had a return on equity of 8.42% and a net margin of 20.28%.The firm had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.35 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.89 earnings per share. The company's revenue was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Sempra Energy will post 4.76 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sempra Energy

In related news, EVP Caroline Ann Winn sold 5,114 shares of Sempra Energy stock in a transaction on 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,229,553.80. This trade represents a 11.49% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 1,576 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total transaction of $126,080.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 15,600 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,248,000. This represents a 9.18% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Barclays boosted their price objective on Sempra Energy from $71.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 26th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Sempra Energy from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of Sempra Energy in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Finally, Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $80.00 target price (up previously from $70.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Sempra Energy currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $82.33.

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.