Sempra Energy Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:SRE)

Key Points

• Sempra Energy experienced a significant increase in options trading, with investors purchasing 139,788 call options, up approximately 17,031% from its typical volume.
• Insider selling activity was noted, with executives Caroline Ann Winn and Alexander Lisa Larroque selling shares, resulting in a total of 49,987 shares sold for about $4.27 million in the past 90 days.
• Institutional investors own 89.65% of Sempra Energy, with Wellington Management Group increasing its holdings by 26.8% in the first quarter of 2023.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Tuesday. Investors purchased 139,788 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 17,031% compared to the typical volume of 816 call options.

Insider Transactions at Sempra Energy

In other news, EVP Caroline Ann Winn sold 5,114 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 39,380 shares in the company, valued at $3,229,553.80. This trade represents a 11.49% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 1,576 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the senior vice president owned 15,600 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,248,000. This represents a 9.18% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 49,987 shares of company stock worth $4,267,870 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sempra Energy

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 10,278,893 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Sempra Energy during the 2nd quarter worth $701,649,000. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Sempra Energy during the 1st quarter worth $192,130,000. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its position in shares of Sempra Energy by 786.1% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 2,957,399 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $224,082,000 after purchasing an additional 2,623,637 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp lifted its position in shares of Sempra Energy by 809.5% during the 2nd quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 2,750,891 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $208,435,000 after purchasing an additional 2,448,415 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.65% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on SRE. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Sempra Energy from $86.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 24th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Sempra Energy from $71.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 26th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Sempra Energy from $88.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, September 25th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $93.00 target price (up previously from $86.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a report on Wednesday, September 24th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $80.00 target price (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 Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $84.55.

Sempra Energy Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of NYSE:SRE traded up $0.32 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $90.02. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,512,313 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,514,894. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $82.42 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $76.82. The company has a market capitalization of $58.74 billion, a PE ratio of 21.74, a P/E/G ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 0.48. Sempra Energy has a fifty-two week low of $61.90 and a fifty-two week high of $95.77.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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. The business had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.35 billion. Sempra Energy had a net margin of 20.28% and a return on equity of 8.42%. The company's quarterly revenue was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.89 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Sempra Energy will post 4.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 1st will be paid a $0.645 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 1st. This represents a $2.58 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. Sempra Energy's payout ratio is 62.32%.

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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