6,080 Shares in Sempra Energy $SRE Purchased by Marex Group plc

Marex Group plc acquired a new stake in Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 6,080 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $461,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of SRE. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in Sempra Energy by 26.8% during the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 48,686,047 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,474,236,000 after buying an additional 10,278,893 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Sempra Energy during the second quarter worth about $701,649,000. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its holdings in shares of 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. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp increased its holdings in Sempra Energy by 809.5% during the 2nd quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 2,750,891 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $208,435,000 after acquiring an additional 2,448,415 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PointState Capital LP acquired a new position in shares of Sempra Energy during the first quarter worth $154,369,000. 89.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Sempra Energy Stock Performance

SRE opened at $88.62 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $57.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.18, a PEG ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a fifty day moving average of $91.79 and a 200 day moving average of $84.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 1.56 and a current ratio of 1.59. Sempra Energy has a fifty-two week low of $61.90 and a fifty-two week high of $95.72.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.11 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.84 by $0.27. The business had revenue of $3.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.99 billion. Sempra Energy had a return on equity of 8.67% and a net margin of 15.63%.The business’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 business earned $0.89 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Sempra Energy will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm 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. This represents a $2.58 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 11th. Sempra Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 79.14%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on SRE shares. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Sempra Energy from $95.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of Sempra Energy in a report on Monday, October 27th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $115.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Sempra Energy from $82.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Sempra Energy from $101.00 to $98.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $89.00 target price on shares of Sempra Energy and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Sempra Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $96.92.

Insider Activity

In other Sempra Energy news, Director Kevin C. Sagara sold 14,433 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.50, for a total transaction of $1,291,753.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 1,042 shares in the company, valued at $93,259. The trade was a 93.27% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Caroline Ann Winn sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.70, for a total value of $45,850.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 33,664 shares in the company, valued at $3,086,988.80. This trade represents a 1.46% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 33,829 shares of company stock worth $3,077,360. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.