2,692,407 Shares in Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) Purchased by Nuveen LLC

Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 2,692,407 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $192,130,000. Nuveen LLC owned approximately 0.41% of Sempra Energy as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Mattson Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sempra Energy during the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Park Square Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sempra Energy during the fourth quarter worth approximately $41,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sempra Energy during the first quarter worth approximately $38,000. Eastern Bank increased its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy by 73.7% during the first quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 580 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 246 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cary Street Partners Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sempra Energy during the fourth quarter worth approximately $56,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Sempra Energy Trading Down 0.9%

Shares of NYSE SRE opened at $80.99 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $77.14 and its 200-day moving average is $75.67. The stock has a market cap of $52.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.62. Sempra Energy has a twelve month low of $61.90 and a twelve month high of $95.77. The company has a quick ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.35 billion. Sempra Energy had a net margin of 20.28% and a return on equity of 8.42%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.89 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Sempra Energy will post 4.76 EPS for the current year.

Sempra Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 26th were given a $0.645 dividend. This represents a $2.58 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 26th. Sempra Energy’s payout ratio is currently 62.32%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sempra Energy

In related news, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 1,576 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the senior vice president directly owned 15,600 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,248,000. The trade was a 9.18% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Diana L. Day sold 8,015 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.26, for a total transaction of $595,193.90. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 16,969 shares in the company, valued at $1,260,117.94. This represents a 32.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on SRE. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target 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. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Sempra Energy from $72.00 to $71.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $80.00 price target (up previously from $70.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a report on Monday, August 4th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on shares of Sempra Energy from $77.00 to $75.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $88.00 target price (up previously from $87.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $81.58.

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.