Sempra Energy $SRE Shares Newly Acquired by Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund

Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund purchased a new position in shares of Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 80,378 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $6,266,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Sempra Energy in the 2nd quarter worth about $5,588,577,000. ABS Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Sempra Energy during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $5,377,180,000. Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy by 16.1% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 10,385,174 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,009,127,000 after acquiring an additional 1,441,981 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new position in shares of Sempra Energy during the second quarter valued at approximately $896,599,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new position in shares of Sempra Energy in the second quarter valued at approximately $538,775,000. 89.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sempra Energy Price Performance

SRE stock opened at $82.79 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.64 and a quick ratio of 1.62. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $82.28 and a 200-day simple moving average of $89.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $54.13 billion, a PE ratio of 24.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.55. Sempra Energy has a 1 year low of $76.21 and a 1 year high of $101.04.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.16 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.01 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.14 billion. Sempra Energy had a return on equity of 8.49% and a net margin of 16.70%. The firm’s revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.89 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Sempra Energy will post 5.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 24th were issued a $0.6575 dividend. This represents a $2.63 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 24th. Sempra Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 76.23%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on SRE shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised Sempra Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $101.00 to $97.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Sempra Energy from $109.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Sempra Energy from $104.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 18th. BTIG Research set a $100.00 target price on shares of Sempra Energy in a research note on Tuesday, October 20th. Finally, HSBC began coverage on shares of Sempra Energy in a report on Thursday, October 22nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $97.50 target price for the company. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Sempra Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $100.53.

About Sempra Energy

Sempra is an energy infrastructure company headquartered in San Diego, California. Through its regulated utility businesses, the company provides natural gas and electric service to customers in California, including through Southern California Gas Company and San Diego Gas & Electric Company.

Sempra also develops, owns, and operates energy infrastructure in North America. Its activities include natural gas pipelines and storage, liquefied natural gas infrastructure, renewable energy and battery storage projects, and electric transmission and distribution assets.