Lazard Asset Management LLC Has $3.60 Million Stock Position in Sempra Energy $SRE

Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) by 41.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 37,026 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,766 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Sempra Energy were worth $3,598,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Sempra Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $914,924,000. Morgan Stanley grew its holdings in Sempra Energy by 17.0% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 22,330,091 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,971,524,000 after acquiring an additional 3,250,783 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake 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 valued at $937,512,000 after purchasing an additional 2,984,409 shares during the last quarter. National Pension Service increased its stake in shares of Sempra Energy by 246.4% in the 4th quarter. National Pension Service now owns 2,826,999 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $249,596,000 after buying an additional 2,010,853 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp increased its position in Sempra Energy by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 36,810,449 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,273,460,000 after purchasing an additional 1,824,280 shares during the period. 89.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Sempra Energy Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of SRE opened at $88.71 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.69 and a quick ratio of 1.66. Sempra Energy has a one year low of $78.97 and a one year high of $101.04. The company has a market cap of $57.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.07, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.56. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $91.77 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $92.49.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.51 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.51. The business had revenue of $3.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.10 billion. Sempra Energy had a return on equity of 8.20% and a net margin of 14.31%.Sempra Energy’s revenue was down 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $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. Research analysts forecast that Sempra Energy will post 5.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 25th were paid a $0.6575 dividend. This represents a $2.63 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 25th. Sempra Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 89.15%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. TD Cowen initiated coverage on Sempra Energy in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Barclays dropped their price target on Sempra Energy from $105.00 to $103.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Sempra Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 25th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $101.00 target price on Sempra Energy in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $118.00 price target on shares of Sempra Energy in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Sempra Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $104.23.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sempra Energy

In other news, EVP Caroline Ann Winn sold 8,000 shares of Sempra Energy stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.55, for a total transaction of $724,400.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 25,164 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,278,600.20. The trade was a 24.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Diana L. Day sold 3,300 shares of Sempra Energy stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.13, for a total value of $304,029.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly 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. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders sold 13,900 shares of company stock worth $1,261,207. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Sempra Energy

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.