State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Has $15.14 Million Stock Holdings in Sempra Energy $SRE

Key Points

• The State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D reduced its stake in Sempra Energy by 4.9%, selling 10,849 shares for a total holding of 212,098 shares, valued at approximately $15.1 million.
• Institutional investors own 89.65% of Sempra Energy's stock, reflecting strong institutional interest, with several hedge funds increasing their positions in the company.
• Sempra Energy reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $0.89 for the last quarter, exceeding estimates, although revenue declined slightly compared to the previous year.

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D trimmed its stake in Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 4.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 212,098 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 10,849 shares during the quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D's holdings in Sempra Energy were worth $15,135,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of SRE. Mattson Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sempra Energy in the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sempra Energy in the 1st quarter worth $38,000. Park Square Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sempra Energy in the 4th quarter worth $41,000. Eastern Bank grew its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy by 73.7% in the 1st quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 580 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 246 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cary Street Partners Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Sempra Energy during the fourth quarter valued at $56,000. 89.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Sempra Energy

In other Sempra Energy news, 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 value of $126,080.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 15,600 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,248,000. The trade was a 9.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Caroline Ann Winn sold 5,114 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.01, for a total value of $419,399.14. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 39,380 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,229,553.80. This represents a 11.49% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.27% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Sempra Energy Stock Down 1.5%

NYSE SRE traded down $1.2030 on Thursday, reaching $81.1970. The stock had a trading volume of 3,327,680 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,521,241. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $77.95 and a 200 day moving average price of $75.74. The company has a current ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. Sempra Energy has a 1 year low of $61.90 and a 1 year high of $95.77. The company has a market capitalization of $52.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 0.62.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 for 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 business's quarterly revenue was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Sempra Energy will post 4.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SRE has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $88.00 price target (up previously from $87.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Sempra Energy from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Citigroup reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $80.00 price target (up previously from $70.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on Sempra Energy from $72.00 to $71.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $81.58.

About Sempra Energy

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.