Sempra Energy $SRE Stock Position Lifted by DNB Asset Management AS

Key Points

• DNB Asset Management AS increased its Sempra Energy stake by 6.4% in the fourth quarter, ending with 254,830 shares worth about $22.5 million. Several other institutional investors also boosted holdings, and hedge funds and other institutions now own 89.65% of the stock.
• Analysts remain generally positive on Sempra Energy, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $103.00. Recent ratings included upgrades from Argus and price-target increases from Morgan Stanley and Barclays, though Wall Street Zen downgraded the stock to sell.
• Sempra reported Q1 earnings of $1.51 per share, matching estimates, but revenue of $3.66 billion missed expectations and fell 3.9% year over year. The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.6575 per share, yielding about 2.9% annually.

DNB Asset Management AS boosted its stake in shares of Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 6.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 254,830 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 15,303 shares during the period. DNB Asset Management AS's holdings in Sempra Energy were worth $22,499,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SRE. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in Sempra Energy by 52.5% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 18,008 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,285,000 after purchasing an additional 6,196 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP grew its position in Sempra Energy by 40.7% during the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 53,512 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,819,000 after purchasing an additional 15,474 shares in the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Sempra Energy by 6.2% during the second quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 14,699 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,114,000 after purchasing an additional 858 shares in the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC grew its position in Sempra Energy by 78.5% during the second quarter. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC now owns 771 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 339 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. grew its position in Sempra Energy by 80.0% during the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 423,280 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $32,072,000 after purchasing an additional 188,131 shares in the last quarter. 89.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on SRE shares. Morgan Stanley set a $104.00 target price on shares of Sempra Energy and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Argus raised shares of Sempra Energy from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Truist Financial set a $108.00 target price on shares of Sempra Energy and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Sempra Energy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Sunday, May 10th. Finally, Barclays reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $105.00 target price (up from $95.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $103.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Dyan Z. Wold sold 1,539 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 4,633 shares in the company, valued at approximately $441,895.54. The trade was a 24.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Justin Christopher Bird sold 1,128 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.69, for a total transaction of $109,066.32. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 21,632 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,091,598.08. The trade was a 4.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders acquired 6,192 shares of company stock valued at $576,979 and sold 10,839 shares valued at $1,010,935. Corporate insiders own 0.31% of the company's stock.

Sempra Energy Price Performance

Shares of Sempra Energy stock opened at $90.47 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $94.71 and a 200-day simple moving average of $92.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.69, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. Sempra Energy has a 1-year low of $73.06 and a 1-year high of $101.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $59.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.67, a PEG ratio of 3.41 and a beta of 0.60.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.51 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.51. Sempra Energy had a net margin of 14.31% and a return on equity of 8.20%. The business had revenue of $3.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.10 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.44 earnings per share. Sempra Energy's revenue for the quarter was down 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. 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. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Sempra Energy will post 5.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Sempra Energy Dividend Announcement

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

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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