UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC Acquires 630,540 Shares of Sempra Energy $SRE

Key Points

• UBS AM acquired an additional 630,540 shares of Sempra Energy in the first quarter, increasing its total holdings by 13.7% to over 5.2 million shares.
• In the latest quarter, Sempra Energy reported earnings per share of $0.89, exceeding analysts' expectations, although revenue fell short of consensus estimates.
• Equities research analysts have set a consensus target price of $82.33 for Sempra Energy, with a majority rating it as a "Moderate Buy."

UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 13.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 5,231,912 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 630,540 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC owned about 0.80% of Sempra Energy worth $373,349,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of SRE. Nuveen Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Sempra Energy by 10.1% during the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 2,774,326 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $243,364,000 after acquiring an additional 253,585 shares during the last quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sempra Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $589,000. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV lifted its stake in shares of Sempra Energy by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV now owns 77,258 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $6,781,000 after acquiring an additional 534 shares during the last quarter. Mufg Securities Americas Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Sempra Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $820,000. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP lifted its stake in shares of Sempra Energy by 28.2% during the 4th quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 39,231 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,441,000 after acquiring an additional 8,638 shares during the last quarter. 89.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Caroline Ann Winn sold 5,114 shares of Sempra Energy stock in a transaction on 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 in the company, valued at approximately $3,229,553.80. This trade represents a 11.49% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 1,576 shares of Sempra Energy stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total value of $126,080.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 15,600 shares in the company, valued at $1,248,000. This represents a 9.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

Sempra Energy Trading Up 2.0%

Shares of NYSE:SRE opened at $81.96 on Thursday. Sempra Energy has a 12-month low of $61.90 and a 12-month high of $95.77. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $79.98 and its 200-day simple moving average is $75.55. The company has a market capitalization of $53.48 billion, a PE ratio of 19.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.65. 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 (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 earnings per share (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 business had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.35 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.89 EPS. The business's revenue was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Sempra Energy will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on SRE shares. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $80.00 target price (up from $70.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of Sempra Energy in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on Sempra Energy from $71.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 26th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $82.33.

Sempra Energy Company 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.