Bank of Nova Scotia Purchases 482,198 Shares of Sempra Energy $SRE

Bank of Nova Scotia lifted its position in shares of Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) by 166.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 772,584 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 482,198 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia owned about 0.12% of Sempra Energy worth $75,072,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of SRE. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Sempra Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $914,924,000. Morgan Stanley raised its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy by 17.0% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 22,330,091 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,971,524,000 after purchasing an additional 3,250,783 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy by 40.1% in 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 lifted its position in shares of Sempra Energy by 246.4% in the fourth quarter. National Pension Service now owns 2,826,999 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $249,596,000 after purchasing an additional 2,010,853 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of 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 in the last quarter. 89.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Caroline Ann Winn sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.55, for a total transaction of $724,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 25,164 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,278,600.20. This trade represents a 24.12% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 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 transaction of $304,029.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 22,870 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,107,013.10. The trade was a 12.61% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders have sold 13,900 shares of company stock valued at $1,261,207. 0.31% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Sempra Energy Stock Performance

Shares of SRE opened at $93.44 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $61.08 billion, a PE ratio of 31.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.56. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $91.88 and a 200-day moving average of $92.41. Sempra Energy has a one year low of $78.97 and a one year high of $101.04. 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 (NYSE:SRE) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.51. Sempra Energy had a net margin of 14.31% and a return on equity of 8.20%. The company had revenue of $3.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.10 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.44 EPS. Sempra Energy’s quarterly revenue was down 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. 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. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Sempra Energy will post 5.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Sempra Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 25th were issued a dividend of $0.6575 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 25th. This represents a $2.63 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. Sempra Energy’s payout ratio is presently 89.15%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets set a $102.00 target price on shares of Sempra Energy and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. TD Cowen started coverage on shares of Sempra Energy in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Barclays decreased their price objective on Sempra Energy from $105.00 to $103.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Sempra Energy in a report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Truist Financial set a $104.00 price target on Sempra Energy and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Sempra Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $104.23.

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.