Strs Ohio Invests $27.94 Million in Sempra Energy $SRE

Key Points

• Strs Ohio has invested $27.94 million in Sempra Energy by purchasing 391,589 shares, now holding approximately 0.06% of the company's stock.
• Major institutional investors have been actively adjusting their positions, with 89.65% of Sempra Energy's stock owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
• Sempra Energy's recent quarterly earnings report showed an EPS of $0.89, exceeding estimates, although revenue declined slightly compared to the previous year.

Strs Ohio purchased a new position in shares of Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 391,589 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $27,944,000. Strs Ohio owned 0.06% of Sempra Energy as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Mattson Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sempra Energy during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Pingora Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Sempra Energy by 48.3% during the 1st quarter. Pingora Partners LLC now owns 430 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the period. Park Square Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sempra Energy during the 4th quarter worth $41,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sempra Energy during the 1st quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Eastern Bank grew its stake in shares of Sempra Energy by 73.7% during the 1st quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 580 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 246 shares during the period. 89.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SRE has been the topic of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Sempra Energy in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Sempra Energy from $71.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 26th. Finally, Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating and set a $80.00 target price (up from $70.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a report on Monday, August 4th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $81.27.

Insider Activity

In other Sempra Energy news, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 1,576 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 23rd. The shares were 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 trade represents a 9.18% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Caroline Ann Winn sold 5,114 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.01, for a total transaction of $419,399.14. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 39,380 shares in the company, valued at $3,229,553.80. This represents a 11.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.27% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Sempra Energy Price Performance

Sempra Energy stock opened at $83.52 on Friday. Sempra Energy has a 12-month low of $61.90 and a 12-month high of $95.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $54.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.17, a P/E/G ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.65. The firm's 50-day moving average is $80.14 and its two-hundred day moving average is $75.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.48 and a quick ratio of 0.41.

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

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.

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