Amundi Buys 327,154 Shares of Sempra Energy $SRE

Amundi grew its stake in Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) by 20.8% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 1,903,624 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 327,154 shares during the quarter. Amundi’s holdings in Sempra Energy were worth $142,429,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Federated Hermes Inc. raised its position in shares of Sempra Energy by 80.7% in the 1st quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 2,784 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $199,000 after purchasing an additional 1,243 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in Sempra Energy during the 1st quarter valued at about $289,000. National Bank of Canada FI raised its holdings in Sempra Energy by 12.0% in the first quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 592,787 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $42,300,000 after buying an additional 63,324 shares during the last quarter. Forsta AP Fonden raised its holdings in Sempra Energy by 12.3% in the first quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 141,200 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $10,076,000 after buying an additional 15,500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Zions Bancorporation National Association UT bought a new position in shares of Sempra Energy in the first quarter worth approximately $1,079,000. 89.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 4,322 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.55, for a total transaction of $400,001.10. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 11,325 shares in the company, valued at $1,048,128.75. This trade represents a 27.62% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Caroline Ann Winn sold 500 shares of Sempra Energy stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.70, for a total transaction of $45,850.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 33,664 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,086,988.80. This trade represents a 1.46% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 62,693 shares of company stock worth $5,507,997 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on SRE. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Sempra Energy in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Evercore ISI set a $105.00 price target on shares of Sempra Energy and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 6th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Sempra Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 8th. BTIG Research upgraded shares of Sempra Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $99.00 target price (up from $80.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a research note on Monday, November 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $96.92.

Sempra Energy Stock Up 0.6%

SRE opened at $90.64 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $92.01 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $83.75. The company has a market capitalization of $59.16 billion, a PE ratio of 27.80, a PEG ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.73. Sempra Energy has a 1-year low of $61.90 and a 1-year high of $95.72. The company has a current ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76.

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

Sempra Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.645 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 11th. This represents a $2.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. Sempra Energy’s payout ratio is 79.14%.

About Sempra Energy

Sempra operates as an energy infrastructure company in the United States and internationally. It operates through three segments: Sempra California, Sempra Texas Utilities, and Sempra Infrastructure. The Sempra California segment provides electric services; and natural gas services to San Diego County.