Sempra Energy $SRE Stake Lifted by Czech National Bank

Czech National Bank boosted its stake in Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) by 3.9% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 172,102 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,387 shares during the period. Czech National Bank’s holdings in Sempra Energy were worth $15,195,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Sempra Energy during the third quarter valued at $25,000. Activest Wealth Management increased its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy by 74.6% in the 3rd quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 391 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares during the period. Board of the Pension Protection Fund acquired a new stake in shares of Sempra Energy in the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. lifted its position in Sempra Energy by 117.4% in the 3rd quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. now owns 424 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 229 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPL Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Sempra Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at about $41,000. 89.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Dyan Z. Wold sold 1,539 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.38, for a total transaction of $146,789.82. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 4,633 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $441,895.54. The trade was a 24.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Richard J. Mark bought 2,692 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $93.30 per share, with a total value of $251,163.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 17,376 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,621,180.80. This trade represents a 18.33% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders have purchased 6,192 shares of company stock valued at $576,979 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SRE has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Barclays set a $95.00 target price on shares of Sempra Energy and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Sempra Energy from $113.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. Wall Street Zen upgraded Sempra Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Sempra Energy from $98.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 18th. Finally, UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $100.00 target price (up from $96.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a research report on Friday, March 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Sempra Energy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $100.73.

Sempra Energy Stock Performance

SRE stock opened at $95.53 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $91.79 and a 200 day simple moving average of $90.36. The company has a market capitalization of $62.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.61, a PEG ratio of 3.61 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. Sempra Energy has a fifty-two week low of $61.90 and a fifty-two week high of $97.44.

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

Sempra Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.6575 per share. This is a boost from Sempra Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. This represents a $2.63 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 19th. Sempra Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 95.29%.

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.