Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 55,601 Shares of Sempra Energy $SRE

Principal Financial Group Inc. lowered its position in shares of Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) by 3.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 1,632,683 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 55,601 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.25% of Sempra Energy worth $158,648,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bell Investment Advisors Inc boosted its position in shares of Sempra Energy by 79.5% during the first quarter. Bell Investment Advisors Inc now owns 262 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. Ares Financial Consulting LLC acquired a new stake in Sempra Energy during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd lifted its holdings in Sempra Energy by 57.7% during the fourth quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd now owns 347 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Key Financial Inc grew its stake in Sempra Energy by 73.6% in the fourth quarter. Key Financial Inc now owns 361 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares during the period. Finally, Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy by 83.0% in the fourth quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 355 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. 89.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Sempra Energy news, Director Pablo Ferrero sold 2,600 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.53, for a total value of $232,778.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 15,423 shares in the company, valued at $1,380,821.19. This trade represents a 14.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Caroline Ann Winn sold 8,000 shares of Sempra Energy stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.55, for a total transaction of $724,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 25,164 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,278,600.20. This trade represents a 24.12% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 13,900 shares of company stock worth $1,261,207. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SRE has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. TD Cowen initiated coverage on Sempra Energy in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “overweight” rating and set a $118.00 target price on shares of Sempra Energy in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Truist Financial set a $104.00 price target on shares of Sempra Energy and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 18th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of Sempra Energy from $105.00 to $103.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Sempra Energy in a research report on Monday, April 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Sempra Energy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $103.15.

Sempra Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SRE opened at $93.36 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a current ratio of 1.69. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $91.91 and a 200 day moving average price of $92.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $61.03 billion, a PE ratio of 31.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.56. Sempra Energy has a 52 week low of $73.85 and a 52 week high of $101.04.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.51 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.51. Sempra Energy had a return on equity of 8.20% and a net margin of 14.31%.The firm had revenue of $3.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.10 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.44 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. 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. Analysts predict that Sempra Energy will post 5.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 25th will be paid a $0.6575 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 25th. This represents a $2.63 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. Sempra Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 89.15%.

Sempra Energy Company 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.