Sempra Energy $SRE Stock Position Boosted by Bessemer Group Inc.

Bessemer Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) by 20,627.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,898,675 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,889,515 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. owned approximately 0.29% of Sempra Energy worth $170,842,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in Sempra Energy by 52.5% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 18,008 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,285,000 after purchasing an additional 6,196 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP increased its position in shares of Sempra Energy by 40.7% during the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 53,512 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,819,000 after purchasing an additional 15,474 shares during the period. DAVENPORT & Co LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sempra Energy in the 2nd quarter worth $1,370,000. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Sempra Energy by 76.9% in the 2nd quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 5,510 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $418,000 after buying an additional 2,395 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System lifted its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy by 0.9% in the second quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 34,400 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,606,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. 89.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. BTIG Research upgraded shares of Sempra Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Morgan Stanley set a $97.00 price objective on shares of Sempra Energy and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. UBS Group reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $100.00 target price on shares of Sempra Energy in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Sempra Energy from $95.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Finally, Barclays set a $95.00 price target on Sempra Energy and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $95.83.

Sempra Energy Stock Down 0.4%

SRE stock opened at $86.68 on Thursday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $56.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 0.74. Sempra Energy has a 52-week low of $61.90 and a 52-week high of $95.72. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $88.74 and its 200-day simple moving average is $87.44.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.11 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.84 by $0.27. Sempra Energy had a net margin of 15.63% and a return on equity of 8.67%. The firm had revenue of $3.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.99 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.89 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 13.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Sempra Energy will post 4.76 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 4,322 shares of Sempra Energy stock in a transaction on Friday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.55, for a total transaction of $400,001.10. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 11,325 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,048,128.75. The trade was a 27.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Caroline Ann Winn sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.70, for a total value of $45,850.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 33,664 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,086,988.80. The trade was a 1.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 19,396 shares of company stock worth $1,785,606. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Sempra Energy 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.