Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Buys 52,668 Shares of Sempra Energy $SRE

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lifted its stake in Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) by 9.3% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 619,453 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 52,668 shares during the period. Sempra Energy makes up about 1.0% of Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings, making the stock its 16th largest holding. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Sempra Energy were worth $46,936,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in SRE. Pingora Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy by 48.3% in the first quarter. Pingora Partners LLC now owns 430 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares during the period. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy by 230.8% in the second quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 430 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the period. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Sempra Energy in the first quarter worth $38,000. Eastern Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy by 73.7% in the first quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 580 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 246 shares during the period. Finally, Barrett & Company Inc. bought a new position in shares of Sempra Energy in the second quarter worth $51,000. 89.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Caroline Ann Winn sold 5,114 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.01, for a total value of $419,399.14. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 39,380 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,229,553.80. The trade was a 11.49% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Kevin C. Sagara sold 14,433 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.50, for a total value of $1,291,753.50. Following the transaction, the director owned 1,042 shares in the company, valued at approximately $93,259. This represents a 93.27% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 49,987 shares of company stock valued at $4,267,870. Insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on SRE shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Sempra Energy in a research note on Wednesday. Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $80.00 price objective (up previously from $70.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a research note on Monday, August 4th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Sempra Energy from $88.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Sempra Energy from $71.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 26th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price objective on Sempra Energy from $86.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 24th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $86.09.

Sempra Energy Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of SRE stock opened at $93.36 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $83.94 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $77.74. Sempra Energy has a 12-month low of $61.90 and a 12-month high of $95.77. The firm has a market cap of $60.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.66.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.07. Sempra Energy had a return on equity of 8.42% and a net margin of 20.28%.The firm had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.35 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.89 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Sempra Energy will post 4.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 1st will be paid a $0.645 dividend. This represents a $2.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 1st. Sempra Energy’s payout ratio is 62.32%.

Sempra Energy Profile

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.