Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Grows Stake in Sempra Energy $SRE

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lifted its position in Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) by 1.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 647,749 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 10,625 shares during the period. Sempra Energy makes up about 1.2% of Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest position. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System owned approximately 0.10% of Sempra Energy worth $57,190,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Ares Financial Consulting LLC purchased a new position in shares of Sempra Energy in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Sempra Energy by 57.7% in the 4th quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd now owns 347 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. Key Financial Inc boosted its stake in shares of Sempra Energy by 73.6% in the 4th quarter. Key Financial Inc now owns 361 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Sempra Energy by 83.0% in the 4th quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 355 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Board of the Pension Protection Fund purchased a new position in shares of Sempra Energy in the 4th quarter worth $35,000. 89.65% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Justin Christopher Bird sold 1,128 shares of the business’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 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Diana L. Day sold 3,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.13, for a total value of $304,029.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 22,870 shares in the company, valued at $2,107,013.10. The trade was a 12.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 7,028 shares of company stock worth $645,873 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on SRE. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $100.00 price target (up from $96.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $118.00 price target on shares of Sempra Energy in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Wall Street Zen upgraded Sempra Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. Argus upgraded Sempra Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $105.00 target price (up from $95.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. One 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $102.67.

Sempra Energy Price Performance

NYSE SRE opened at $91.75 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $59.98 billion, a PE ratio of 31.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.56. 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 business’s fifty day moving average is $92.83 and its 200 day moving average is $91.74. Sempra Energy has a fifty-two week low of $73.06 and a fifty-two week high of $101.04.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.51 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.51. The company had revenue of $3.66 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.10 billion. Sempra Energy had a return on equity of 8.20% and a net margin of 14.31%.Sempra Energy’s quarterly revenue was down 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.44 earnings per share. 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. Sell-side analysts predict that Sempra Energy will post 5.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Sempra Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 25th will be given a $0.6575 dividend. This represents a $2.63 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 25th. Sempra Energy’s payout ratio is presently 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.