Bahl & Gaynor Inc. Reduces Position in Sempra Energy $SRE

Bahl & Gaynor Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) by 3.2% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 3,499,794 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 115,036 shares during the period. Sempra Energy accounts for about 1.6% of Bahl & Gaynor Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 16th largest holding. Bahl & Gaynor Inc.’s holdings in Sempra Energy were worth $314,911,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Sempra Energy by 14.2% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 75,725,594 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $6,813,784,000 after purchasing an additional 9,396,652 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Sempra Energy during the second quarter worth approximately $701,649,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in Sempra Energy by 106.3% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 10,428,007 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $938,325,000 after buying an additional 5,374,277 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP grew its holdings in Sempra Energy by 786.1% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 2,957,399 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $224,082,000 after buying an additional 2,623,637 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp increased its stake in shares of Sempra Energy by 809.5% in the 2nd quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 2,750,891 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $208,435,000 after acquiring an additional 2,448,415 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Sempra Energy Price Performance

Sempra Energy stock opened at $96.16 on Monday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $89.68 and its 200-day simple moving average is $88.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 1.59. Sempra Energy has a 1 year low of $61.90 and a 1 year high of $97.44. The company has a market capitalization of $62.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.63 and a beta of 0.73.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $1.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $3.75 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.82 billion. Sempra Energy had a net margin of 13.27% and a return on equity of 8.22%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.50 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Sempra Energy will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Sempra Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 19th will be issued a $0.6575 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 19th. This represents a $2.63 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. This is a boost from Sempra Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. Sempra Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 93.48%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SRE has been the topic of several recent research reports. UBS Group reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $100.00 price target on shares of Sempra Energy in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Sempra Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 8th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Sempra Energy from $112.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $101.00 price target on shares of Sempra Energy in a report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated 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, six have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $99.20.

Key Stories Impacting Sempra Energy

Here are the key news stories impacting Sempra Energy this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo raised its price target to $113 and kept an “overweight” rating — the new target implies roughly a mid-teens upside from current levels, supporting buy-side interest. Benzinga
• Positive Sentiment: Company lifted its five-year capital plan (16% increase) and beat Q4 adjusted profit estimates, signaling higher near-term infrastructure spending and growth that justify a premium multiple. Reuters
• Positive Sentiment: Sempra issued a robust long‑range EPS outlook (2030 guidance) and highlighted value‑creation initiatives in its 2025 results release, which supports a constructive long-term growth story. PR Newswire
• Positive Sentiment: Q4 EPS beat street estimates ($1.28 vs. consensus ~ $1.12), which investors often reward even though revenue was slightly soft — the beat helps justify recent analyst upgrades. Zacks
• Positive Sentiment: Sempra raised its quarterly dividend (to $0.6575; ~2.8% yield), a modest increase that supports income-focused investors and signals board confidence.
• Neutral Sentiment: Brokerage consensus remains a “Moderate Buy,” indicating broad analyst support but not unanimous conviction. AmericanBankingNews
• Neutral Sentiment: Updated FY‑2026 and FY‑2027 guidance provide ranges that are roughly in line with consensus (some endpoints below/above estimates), leaving near‑term growth visibility mixed. PR Newswire (guidance)
• Neutral Sentiment: Earnings call transcript and slide deck are available for investors who want detail on segment performance and capital allocation—useful but not market-moving by themselves. Seeking Alpha
• Negative Sentiment: Revenue slipped year-over-year (down ~0.2%) and overall profits/cash levels were described as tighter, which could temper valuation expansion and raise near‑term execution questions. Zacks (revenue note)

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.