HighTower Advisors LLC Acquires Shares of 1,283,524 Sempra Energy $SRE

HighTower Advisors LLC bought a new position in Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund bought 1,283,524 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $118,996,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Bell Investment Advisors Inc boosted its stake in shares of Sempra Energy by 79.5% during the first quarter. Bell Investment Advisors Inc now owns 262 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the period. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Sempra Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. bought a new stake in Sempra Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Silvant Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Sempra Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd boosted its position in Sempra Energy by 57.7% in the 4th quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd now owns 347 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 127 shares during the period. 89.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Sempra Energy Price Performance

NYSE SRE opened at $83.91 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $54.87 billion, a PE ratio of 24.32, a P/E/G ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 0.55. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $88.74 and its 200-day moving average price is $91.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 1.62 and a current ratio of 1.64. Sempra Energy has a 52-week low of $78.97 and a 52-week high of $101.04.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.16 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.01 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.14 billion. Sempra Energy had a net margin of 16.70% and a return on equity of 8.49%. Sempra Energy’s revenue for the quarter was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.89 earnings per share. Sempra Energy has set its FY 2027 guidance at 5.100-5.700 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 4.800-5.300 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Sempra Energy will post 5.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 24th will be given a $0.6575 dividend. This represents a $2.63 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 24th. Sempra Energy’s payout ratio is presently 76.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sempra Energy

In other Sempra Energy news, EVP Caroline Winn sold 8,000 shares of Sempra Energy stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.55, for a total value of $724,400.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 25,164 shares in the company, valued at $2,278,600.20. The trade was a 24.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.31% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on SRE. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Sempra Energy in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Truist Financial set a $96.00 price target on shares of Sempra Energy and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Sempra Energy from $113.00 to $102.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 2nd. BMO Capital Markets set a $102.00 price objective on Sempra Energy and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Sempra Energy from $108.00 to $104.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Sempra Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $102.00.

About Sempra Energy

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.