Wellington Management Group LLP Boosts Stake in Sempra Energy $SRE

Key Points

• Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Sempra Energy by 26.8%, owning over 48 million shares, valued at approximately $3.47 billion, making it one of the firm's largest holdings.
• Analysts have a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" for Sempra Energy, with an average price target of $81.58, following recent upgrades from firms like BMO Capital Markets and Citigroup.
• Sempra Energy reported quarterly earnings per share of $0.89, exceeding expectations despite a minor revenue decline compared to the previous year.

Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 26.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 48,686,047 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 10,278,893 shares during the quarter. Sempra Energy makes up 0.7% of Wellington Management Group LLP's portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest holding. Wellington Management Group LLP owned 7.47% of Sempra Energy worth $3,474,236,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in SRE. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Sempra Energy by 145.7% in the first quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 48,359 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,451,000 after buying an additional 28,678 shares during the period. Watts Gwilliam & Co. LLC increased its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy by 2.6% during the first quarter. Watts Gwilliam & Co. LLC now owns 10,807 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $771,000 after purchasing an additional 270 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group raised its stake in shares of Sempra Energy by 29.5% in the 1st quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 5,071 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $362,000 after buying an additional 1,154 shares in the last quarter. Algert Global LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sempra Energy in the 1st quarter worth $291,000. Finally, Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy by 18.3% during the first quarter. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. now owns 20,529 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,465,000 after buying an additional 3,170 shares in the last quarter. 89.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Sempra Energy from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $80.00 price objective (up previously from $70.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $88.00 price objective (up previously from $87.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on Sempra Energy from $72.00 to $71.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $81.58.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sempra Energy

In other news, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 1,576 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total value of $126,080.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 15,600 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,248,000. This represents a 9.18% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Caroline Ann Winn sold 5,114 shares of the firm's 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 39,380 shares in the company, valued at $3,229,553.80. The trade was a 11.49% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.27% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Sempra Energy Trading Down 0.7%

SRE stock opened at $81.27 on Monday. Sempra Energy has a 1-year low of $61.90 and a 1-year high of $95.77. The firm has a market cap of $53.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.63, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.62. The business's 50 day moving average is $77.55 and its 200-day moving average is $75.66. 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 earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.35 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.89 EPS. Sempra Energy's revenue was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Sempra Energy will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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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