Zions Bancorporation National Association UT Purchases Shares of 15,121 Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE)

Key Points

• Zions Bancorporation National Association UT acquired 15,121 shares of Sempra Energy, valued at approximately $1,079,000, in the first quarter of the year.
• The stock has a current market cap of $53.29 billion and a PE ratio of 19.74. Sempra Energy also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.645 per share.
• Equity analysts describe Sempra Energy as having a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average target price of $81.58.

Zions Bancorporation National Association UT purchased a new stake in shares of Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 15,121 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,079,000.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Forsta AP Fonden lifted its position in shares of Sempra Energy by 12.3% during the first quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 141,200 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $10,076,000 after buying an additional 15,500 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its position in shares of Sempra Energy by 12.0% during the first quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 592,787 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $42,300,000 after buying an additional 63,324 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Sempra Energy by 14.1% during the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,305,670 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $93,173,000 after buying an additional 161,839 shares during the last quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lifted its position in shares of Sempra Energy by 1.9% during the first quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 566,785 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $40,446,000 after buying an additional 10,484 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Sempra Energy during the first quarter valued at about $289,000. 89.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays cut their price objective 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. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and set a $88.00 price objective (up previously from $87.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective 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 upped their price objective on shares of Sempra Energy from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating and set a $80.00 price objective (up previously from $70.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a report on Monday, August 4th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Sempra Energy presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $81.58.

Insider Activity at Sempra Energy

In other news, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 1,576 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total transaction of $126,080.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 15,600 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,248,000. This trade represents a 9.18% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Diana L. Day sold 8,015 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.26, for a total transaction of $595,193.90. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 16,969 shares in the company, valued at $1,260,117.94. The trade was a 32.08% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Sempra Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SRE opened at $81.74 on Friday. Sempra Energy has a twelve month low of $61.90 and a twelve month high of $95.77. The company's 50 day moving average is $77.08 and its 200 day moving average is $75.73. The company has a current ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. The company has a market cap of $53.29 billion, a PE ratio of 19.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.20 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 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.07. Sempra Energy had a net margin of 20.28% and a return on equity of 8.37%. The company had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.35 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.89 EPS. Sempra Energy's quarterly revenue was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Sempra Energy will post 4.76 EPS for the current year.

Sempra Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 26th were issued a $0.645 dividend. This represents a $2.58 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 26th. Sempra Energy's dividend payout ratio is 56.70%.

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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