Hudson Bay Capital Management LP Boosts Stake in Sempra Energy $SRE

Hudson Bay Capital Management LP lifted its position in Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) by 109.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 477,525 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 249,314 shares during the quarter. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP owned approximately 0.07% of Sempra Energy worth $42,968,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Sempra Energy by 14.2% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 75,725,594 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,813,784,000 after buying an additional 9,396,652 shares during the period. Capital International Investors boosted its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy by 9.2% in 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 during the period. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy by 1.8% in 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 during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in shares of Sempra Energy by 106.3% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 10,428,007 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $938,325,000 after acquiring an additional 5,374,277 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of Sempra Energy by 40.1% during 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 during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Sempra Energy Price Performance

Sempra Energy stock opened at $95.06 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 1.59 and a quick ratio of 1.57. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $91.25 and a 200-day simple moving average of $89.91. Sempra Energy has a 12 month low of $61.90 and a 12 month high of $97.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $62.10 billion, a PE ratio of 34.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 0.73.

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

Sempra Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 19th will be issued a $0.6575 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 19th. This is a positive change from Sempra Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. This represents a $2.63 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. Sempra Energy’s payout ratio is presently 93.48%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on SRE. Argus upgraded shares of Sempra Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $99.00 price objective (up from $80.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a research report on Monday, November 24th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Sempra Energy in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $100.00 target price (up from $96.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a report on Friday, March 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Sempra Energy from $112.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Sempra Energy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $100.55.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Karen L. Sedgwick sold 4,872 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.58, for a total value of $451,049.76. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 39,029 shares in the company, valued at $3,613,304.82. This trade represents a 11.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Cynthia J. Warner acquired 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $92.95 per share, for a total transaction of $232,375.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 11,275 shares in the company, valued at $1,048,011.25. This represents a 28.49% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have bought 6,192 shares of company stock valued at $576,979. Corporate insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

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.