State of Michigan Retirement System Sells 30,100 Shares of Sempra Energy $SRE

Key Points

• State of Michigan Retirement System reduced its stake in Sempra Energy by 15.0% in Q4, selling 30,100 shares and leaving it with 170,920 shares valued at about $15.09 million.
• Sempra topped Q4 EPS estimates ($1.28 vs. $1.12) while revenue slightly missed, and analysts maintain a consensus of "Moderate Buy" with an average price target of about $102.67.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.6575 ($2.63 annual, ~2.8% yield); institutional ownership is high (~89.65%) and insiders were modest net sellers over the past three months.

State of Michigan Retirement System decreased its position in Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 15.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 170,920 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 30,100 shares during the quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System's holdings in Sempra Energy were worth $15,091,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy by 13.8% in the 4th quarter. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. now owns 73,377 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $6,478,000 after purchasing an additional 8,900 shares during the period. Simon Quick Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Sempra Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $342,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 76,734,070 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $6,774,907,000 after purchasing an additional 1,008,476 shares during the period. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy by 21.1% in the 4th quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 25,985 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,294,000 after purchasing an additional 4,532 shares during the period. Finally, Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 6,438 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $553,000 after purchasing an additional 282 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.65% of the company's stock.

Sempra Energy Price Performance

Shares of SRE stock opened at $92.49 on Tuesday. Sempra Energy has a 52-week low of $72.99 and a 52-week high of $101.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 1.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $60.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.51, a P/E/G ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 0.67. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $95.07 and a 200 day moving average price of $91.92.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $1.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.16. Sempra Energy had a return on equity of 8.22% and a net margin of 13.27%.The firm had revenue of $3.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.82 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.50 EPS. Sempra Energy's quarterly revenue was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Sempra Energy will post 5.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Sempra Energy Increases Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on SRE shares. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $118.00 target price on shares of Sempra Energy in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. 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. Truist Financial set a $108.00 target price on Sempra Energy and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. Barclays reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $105.00 target price (up from $95.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $100.00 target price (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 given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $102.67.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Justin Christopher Bird sold 1,128 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owned 21,632 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,091,598.08. This trade represents a 4.96% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Dyan Z. Wold sold 1,539 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 16th. The stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at $441,895.54. This represents a 24.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders purchased 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 insiders.

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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