National Pension Service Has $73.44 Million Holdings in Sempra Energy $SRE

National Pension Service boosted its stake in shares of Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) by 1.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 816,146 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 13,712 shares during the period. National Pension Service owned about 0.13% of Sempra Energy worth $73,437,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in SRE. Westerkirk Capital Inc. bought a new stake in Sempra Energy during the 2nd quarter worth about $3,091,000. Amundi raised its stake in Sempra Energy by 20.8% in the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 1,903,624 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $142,429,000 after acquiring an additional 327,154 shares during the period. GW Henssler & Associates Ltd. raised its position in shares of Sempra Energy by 3.3% in the second quarter. GW Henssler & Associates Ltd. now owns 353,620 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,794,000 after purchasing an additional 11,437 shares during the period. North Star Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Sempra Energy during the second quarter worth approximately $212,000. Finally, Hudson Bay Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Sempra Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at $17,292,000. 89.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $112.00 price objective (down from $115.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Sempra Energy from $95.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $97.00 price target (down previously from $98.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group set a $89.00 price objective on Sempra Energy and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Sempra Energy in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $95.83.

Sempra Energy Stock Performance

NYSE:SRE opened at $87.37 on Monday. Sempra Energy has a 1-year low of $61.90 and a 1-year high of $95.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.59 and a quick ratio of 1.56. The business has a 50 day moving average of $89.14 and a 200 day moving average of $87.32. The company has a market capitalization of $57.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.80, a PEG ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 0.74.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.11 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.84 by $0.27. The business had revenue of $3.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.99 billion. Sempra Energy had a net margin of 15.63% and a return on equity of 8.67%. Sempra Energy’s quarterly revenue was up 13.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.89 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Sempra Energy will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 11th were issued a $0.645 dividend. This represents a $2.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 11th. Sempra Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 79.14%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Caroline Ann Winn sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.70, for a total value of $45,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 33,664 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,086,988.80. This represents a 1.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Dyan Z. Wold sold 1,510 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.38, for a total transaction of $137,983.80. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 3,481 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $318,093.78. The trade was a 30.25% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 19,396 shares of company stock worth $1,785,606 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

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.