Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. Has $115,000 Position in Sempra Energy $SRE

Key Points

• Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. significantly reduced its holdings in Sempra Energy, selling 7,456 shares to hold 1,605 shares, representing an 82.3% decrease in their position.
• Multiple hedge funds have adjusted their stakes in Sempra, with Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increasing its ownership by 8.4% and Merit Financial Group LLC boosting its position by 171.2% during the same quarter.
• Sempra Energy's stock has recently traded around $82.43, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from analysts and a target price averaging $81.58.

Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. trimmed its position in Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 82.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,605 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 7,456 shares during the period. Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V.'s holdings in Sempra Energy were worth $115,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S raised its position in shares of Sempra Energy by 3.4% in the 1st quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 21,948 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,566,000 after acquiring an additional 728 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its stake in Sempra Energy by 64.7% in the first quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 2,328,655 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $165,647,000 after acquiring an additional 915,072 shares during the period. Maven Securities LTD acquired a new position in Sempra Energy in the first quarter valued at about $1,427,000. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in Sempra Energy during the 1st quarter worth approximately $3,604,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in Sempra Energy by 26.8% during the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 48,686,047 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,474,236,000 after buying an additional 10,278,893 shares during the period. 89.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Sempra Energy from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. 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. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Sempra Energy from $72.00 to $71.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and set a $88.00 target price (up from $87.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Seven equities research 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 stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $81.58.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Caroline Ann Winn sold 5,114 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.01, for a total transaction 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. The trade was a 11.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 1,576 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total transaction of $126,080.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 15,600 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,248,000. The trade was a 9.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Sempra Energy Stock Down 1.3%

NYSE SRE traded down $1.0850 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $81.8150. 1,289,410 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,498,655. The business's 50-day moving average is $78.23 and its 200-day moving average is $75.65. Sempra Energy has a twelve month low of $61.90 and a twelve month high of $95.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 0.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $53.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 0.62.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.35 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.89 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Sempra Energy will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current year.

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.