Virtu Financial LLC Acquires New Position in Sempra Energy $SRE

Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm acquired 6,726 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $594,000.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Sempra Energy by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 76,734,070 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,774,907,000 after buying an additional 1,008,476 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors increased its position in shares of Sempra Energy by 9.2% during the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 54,071,206 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,865,115,000 after acquiring an additional 4,572,312 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Sempra Energy by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 36,810,449 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,273,460,000 after acquiring an additional 1,824,280 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its holdings in Sempra Energy by 17.0% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 22,330,091 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,971,524,000 after acquiring an additional 3,250,783 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Sempra Energy by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,298,845 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,256,592,000 after acquiring an additional 116,554 shares during the last quarter. 89.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Sempra Energy

In other Sempra Energy news, Director Pablo Ferrero sold 2,600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.53, for a total value of $232,778.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 15,423 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,380,821.19. This represents a 14.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Justin Christopher Bird sold 1,128 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.69, for a total value of $109,066.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 21,632 shares in the company, valued at $2,091,598.08. The trade was a 4.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 15,028 shares of company stock worth $1,370,273. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Sempra Energy Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of Sempra Energy stock opened at $91.55 on Tuesday. Sempra Energy has a twelve month low of $73.18 and a twelve month high of $101.04. The company has a quick ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 1.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. The company’s 50 day moving average is $92.20 and its 200 day moving average is $91.68. The company has a market cap of $59.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 0.57.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.51 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.51. The business had revenue of $3.65 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.10 billion. Sempra Energy had a net margin of 14.31% and a return on equity of 8.20%. The firm’s revenue was down 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.44 EPS. Sempra Energy has set its FY 2027 guidance at 5.100-5.700 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 4.870-5.370 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Sempra Energy will post 5.11 EPS for the current year.

Sempra Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 25th will be paid a $0.6575 dividend. This represents a $2.63 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 25th. Sempra Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 89.15%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on SRE shares. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $118.00 target price on shares of Sempra Energy in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Sempra Energy from $98.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 18th. Argus raised Sempra Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Morgan Stanley set a $104.00 price objective on Sempra Energy and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on Sempra Energy from $105.00 to $103.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $102.67.

Sempra Energy Profile

Sempra Energy is a San Diego–based energy infrastructure company that develops, owns and operates businesses delivering electricity and natural gas. Its operations include regulated utility services that provide electric and gas distribution to residential, commercial and industrial customers, as well as non‑regulated infrastructure businesses that develop and manage large-scale energy assets.

The company’s product and service portfolio spans electricity and natural gas delivery, transmission and storage, liquefied natural gas (LNG) facilities, power generation and electric transmission projects.