Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. Purchases 13,864 Shares of Sempra Energy $SRE

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) by 19.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 85,334 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 13,864 shares during the quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Sempra Energy were worth $7,678,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of SRE. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in shares of Sempra Energy by 52.5% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 18,008 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,285,000 after buying an additional 6,196 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP lifted its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy by 40.7% in the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 53,512 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,819,000 after acquiring an additional 15,474 shares during the last quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. purchased a new position in Sempra Energy in the second quarter worth about $51,000. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. increased its stake in Sempra Energy by 3.7% during the second quarter. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. now owns 275,305 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $20,860,000 after acquiring an additional 9,820 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. raised its position in Sempra Energy by 22.3% during the second quarter. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 288,191 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $21,836,000 after purchasing an additional 52,583 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Sempra Energy

In other Sempra Energy news, CAO Dyan Z. Wold sold 1,510 shares of Sempra Energy stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, 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. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 4,322 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.55, for a total value of $400,001.10. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 11,325 shares in the company, valued at $1,048,128.75. The trade was a 27.62% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 19,396 shares of company stock valued at $1,785,606. Company insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Sempra Energy Trading Up 0.3%

SRE stock opened at $87.37 on Friday. Sempra Energy has a 12 month low of $61.90 and a 12 month high of $95.72. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $89.14 and its 200 day moving average is $87.23. The company has a market capitalization of $57.03 billion, a PE ratio of 26.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.59 and a quick ratio of 1.56.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) last issued 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. The business had revenue of $3.15 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.99 billion. Sempra Energy had a net margin of 15.63% and a return on equity of 8.67%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.89 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Sempra Energy will post 4.76 EPS for the current year.

Sempra Energy Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on SRE. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $95.00 target price on shares of Sempra Energy in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $97.00 price objective (down from $98.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $99.00 price objective (up previously from $80.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a research report on Monday, November 24th. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $112.00 target price (down previously from $115.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $95.83.

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.