The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Trims Stake in Sempra Energy $SRE

Key Points

• The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company reduced its Sempra Energy stake by 1.9% in the second quarter, selling 17,313 shares and retaining 916,291 shares valued at approximately $84.9 million. Institutional investors collectively own 89.65% of Sempra.
• Sempra reported quarterly EPS of $1.16, beating analysts’ $1.01 estimate, while revenue of $3 billion fell short of the $3.14 billion forecast and was essentially flat year over year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.6575 per share, or $2.63 annualized, representing a 3.2% yield. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $102, versus a recent share price of $83.44.

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company decreased its position in shares of Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 1.9% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 916,291 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 17,313 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned about 0.14% of Sempra Energy worth $84,949,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in SRE. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its position in shares of Sempra Energy by 11,081.4% during the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 92,350,656 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $8,561,829,000 after purchasing an additional 91,524,727 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Sempra Energy in the second quarter worth $5,588,577,000. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Sempra Energy by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 36,810,449 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,273,460,000 after purchasing an additional 1,824,280 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its holdings in Sempra Energy by 17.0% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 22,330,091 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,971,524,000 after purchasing an additional 3,250,783 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Sempra Energy by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,298,845 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,256,592,000 after buying an additional 116,554 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.65% of the company's stock.

Sempra Energy Trading Down 0.7%

NYSE SRE opened at $83.44 on Friday. Sempra Energy has a 12 month low of $79.59 and a 12 month high of $101.04. The company has a current ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $87.91 and its 200-day moving average price is $91.53. The stock has a market cap of $54.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.19, a P/E/G ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 0.55.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.14 billion. Sempra Energy had a return on equity of 8.49% and a net margin of 16.70%.Sempra Energy's quarterly revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.89 EPS. Sempra Energy has set its FY 2027 guidance at 5.100-5.700 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 4.800-5.300 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Sempra Energy will post 5.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 24th will be given a dividend of $0.6575 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 24th. This represents a $2.63 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. Sempra Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 76.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Sempra Energy news, EVP Caroline Winn sold 8,000 shares of Sempra Energy stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.55, for a total value of $724,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 25,164 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,278,600.20. This trade represents a 24.12% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.31% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on SRE. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Sempra Energy from $108.00 to $104.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 21st. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Sempra Energy from $105.00 to $103.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Sempra Energy in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Mizuho restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $84.00 price objective (down from $104.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a report on Monday, August 31st. Finally, Truist Financial set a $96.00 target price on shares of Sempra Energy and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Sempra Energy presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $102.00.

Sempra Energy Profile

Sempra, formerly known as Sempra Energy, is an energy infrastructure company headquartered in San Diego, California. The company develops, owns and operates energy networks and infrastructure that support the delivery of natural gas and electricity, with operations focused primarily on North America.

Through its California utilities, Southern California Gas Company and San Diego Gas & Electric, Sempra provides natural gas distribution and electric services to residential, commercial and industrial customers.

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