Perpetual Ltd Cuts Holdings in Sempra Energy $SRE

Perpetual Ltd lessened its stake in shares of Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) by 0.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,208,880 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 26,227 shares during the period. Sempra Energy makes up approximately 4.1% of Perpetual Ltd’s holdings, making the stock its largest holding. Perpetual Ltd owned approximately 0.49% of Sempra Energy worth $283,312,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Sempra Energy by 14.2% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 75,725,594 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $6,813,784,000 after acquiring an additional 9,396,652 shares during the period. Capital International Investors boosted its stake in shares of Sempra Energy by 9.2% during the 3rd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 54,071,206 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,865,115,000 after purchasing an additional 4,572,312 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Sempra Energy by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 34,986,169 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,148,055,000 after purchasing an additional 606,101 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in Sempra Energy by 106.3% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 10,428,007 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $938,325,000 after purchasing an additional 5,374,277 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in Sempra Energy by 40.1% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 10,419,115 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $937,512,000 after purchasing an additional 2,984,409 shares during the last quarter. 89.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sempra Energy

In other news, Director Richard J. Mark acquired 2,692 shares of Sempra Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $93.30 per share, for a total transaction of $251,163.60. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 17,376 shares in the company, valued at $1,621,180.80. The trade was a 18.33% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Jennifer M. Kirk bought 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 12th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $93.44 per share, with a total value of $93,440.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 1,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $93,440. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders bought 6,192 shares of company stock valued at $576,979 and sold 7,539 shares valued at $706,906. Corporate insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Sempra Energy Price Performance

Sempra Energy stock opened at $99.20 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. The firm has a market cap of $64.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.94, a P/E/G ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.67. The business has a fifty day moving average of $92.87 and a two-hundred day moving average of $91.01. Sempra Energy has a twelve month low of $61.90 and a twelve month high of $99.28.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $1.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $3.75 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.82 billion. Sempra Energy had a return on equity of 8.22% and a net margin of 13.27%.The business’s revenue was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.50 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Sempra Energy will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 19th will be issued a $0.6575 dividend. This is a boost from Sempra Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. This represents a $2.63 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 19th. Sempra Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 95.29%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on SRE. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Sempra Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Sunday, March 29th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Sempra Energy from $113.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Sempra Energy from $98.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 18th. Argus raised Sempra Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Sempra Energy in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $100.73.

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.