52,119 Sempra Energy $SRE Shares Sold by Maryland State Retirement & Pension System

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lowered its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) by 8.0% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 602,551 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 52,119 shares during the period. Sempra Energy makes up about 0.7% of Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings, making the stock its 25th biggest holding. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Sempra Energy were worth $46,975,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Sempra Energy in the second quarter worth $5,588,577,000. ABS Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Sempra Energy during the 2nd quarter worth $5,377,180,000. Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in Sempra Energy by 16.1% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 10,385,174 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,009,127,000 after purchasing an additional 1,441,981 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG bought a new position in Sempra Energy during the 2nd quarter worth $896,599,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new position in Sempra Energy during the 2nd quarter worth about $538,775,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets set a $102.00 price target on Sempra Energy and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group raised Sempra Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $101.00 to $97.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 1st. BTIG Research set a $100.00 price objective on Sempra Energy in a research report on Tuesday, October 20th. HSBC began coverage on Sempra Energy in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $97.50 price objective on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Sempra Energy from $104.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 18th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned 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 $99.47.

Sempra Energy Trading Down 0.1%

SRE opened at $78.33 on Thursday. Sempra Energy has a twelve month low of $76.21 and a twelve month high of $101.04. The company has a fifty day moving average of $81.75 and a 200-day moving average of $89.12. The stock has a market cap of $51.24 billion, a PE ratio of 16.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a quick ratio of 1.59, a current ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.22 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $3.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.31 billion. Sempra Energy had a net margin of 22.53% and a return on equity of 8.84%. Sempra Energy’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.11 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. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Sempra Energy will post 5.15 EPS for the current year.

Sempra Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 10th will be given a $0.6575 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 10th. This represents a $2.63 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. Sempra Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 56.32%.

Sempra Energy Company Profile

Sempra is a North American energy infrastructure company headquartered in San Diego, California. Formed in 1998 through the merger of Pacific Enterprises and Enova Corporation, the company develops and operates regulated utilities and energy infrastructure. In California, Sempra’s utilities include San Diego Gas & Electric and Southern California Gas Company, which provide electricity and natural gas services to homes and businesses. In Texas, its operations include an ownership interest in Oncor, an electric transmission and distribution company.