Pensionfund Sabic Makes New $1.58 Million Investment in Sempra Energy $SRE

Pensionfund Sabic purchased a new position in shares of Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm purchased 17,900 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,580,000.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in SRE. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Sempra Energy by 14.2% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 75,725,594 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $6,813,784,000 after buying an additional 9,396,652 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its position in 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 raised its position in Sempra Energy by 1.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 34,986,169 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,148,055,000 after acquiring an additional 606,101 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in Sempra Energy by 106.3% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 10,428,007 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $938,325,000 after acquiring an additional 5,374,277 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Sempra Energy by 40.1% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 10,419,115 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $937,512,000 after acquiring an additional 2,984,409 shares in the last quarter. 89.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Sempra Energy

In related news, CFO Karen L. Sedgwick sold 4,872 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.58, for a total transaction of $451,049.76. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 39,029 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,613,304.82. The trade was a 11.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Dyan Z. Wold sold 1,539 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.38, for a total transaction of $146,789.82. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 4,633 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $441,895.54. The trade was a 24.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders acquired 6,192 shares of company stock valued at $576,979. 0.27% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Sempra Energy Stock Up 1.6%

SRE stock opened at $94.96 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $62.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.54 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a 50-day moving average of $91.62 and a two-hundred day moving average of $90.29. Sempra Energy has a 52-week low of $61.90 and a 52-week high of $97.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 1.59 and a quick ratio of 1.57.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $1.28 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.16. Sempra Energy had a return on equity of 8.22% and a net margin of 13.27%.The business had revenue of $3.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.82 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.50 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Sempra Energy will post 4.76 EPS for the current year.

Sempra Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 19th will be given a $0.6575 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 19th. This represents a $2.63 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. This is an increase from Sempra Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. Sempra Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 95.29%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Argus upgraded shares of Sempra Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Sempra Energy in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Barclays set a $95.00 price objective on shares of Sempra Energy and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Wall Street Zen upgraded Sempra Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $100.00 price target (up from $96.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a research report on Friday, March 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $100.73.

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.