Teacher Retirement System of Texas Raises Stock Position in Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its stake in Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 226.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 121,992 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 84,646 shares during the quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas' holdings in Sempra Energy were worth $8,705,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SRE. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Sempra Energy by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 63,018,055 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $5,527,944,000 after acquiring an additional 490,269 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of Sempra Energy by 11.9% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 38,407,154 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,369,076,000 after purchasing an additional 4,082,261 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its holdings in Sempra Energy by 8.0% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 20,489,918 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,797,376,000 after purchasing an additional 1,511,313 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Sempra Energy during the fourth quarter valued at $1,535,000,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Sempra Energy by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 13,072,966 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,143,248,000 after purchasing an additional 311,094 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.65% of the company's stock.

Sempra Energy Stock Performance

NYSE SRE opened at $75.55 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $49.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a quick ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $75.97 and a 200-day moving average price of $76.82. Sempra Energy has a twelve month low of $61.90 and a twelve month high of $95.77.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The utilities provider reported $1.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.32 by $0.12. Sempra Energy had a net margin of 22.15% and a return on equity of 8.55%. The company had revenue of $3.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.90 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.34 EPS. Sempra Energy's revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Sempra Energy will post 4.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 26th will be paid a $0.645 dividend. This represents a $2.58 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.42%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 26th. Sempra Energy's payout ratio is currently 56.70%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on SRE shares. Citigroup reduced their price target on Sempra Energy from $93.00 to $70.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Argus cut shares of Sempra Energy from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on shares of Sempra Energy from $77.00 to $75.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Sempra Energy from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and set a $88.00 target price (up previously from $87.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $80.83.

Insider Transactions at Sempra Energy

In other Sempra Energy news, insider Diana L. Day sold 8,015 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.26, for a total value of $595,193.90. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 16,969 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,260,117.94. This trade represents a 32.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.

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