Swiss National Bank Has $149.53 Million Holdings in Sempra Energy $SRE

Swiss National Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) by 10.5% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,973,400 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 187,000 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in Sempra Energy were worth $149,525,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. PFG Advisors grew its holdings in Sempra Energy by 88.3% during the 1st quarter. PFG Advisors now owns 4,652 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $332,000 after acquiring an additional 2,181 shares during the period. Oak Thistle LLC bought a new position in shares of Sempra Energy in the 1st quarter worth $442,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Sempra Energy by 2.2% during the first quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,425 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $601,000 after purchasing an additional 179 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. grew its stake in shares of Sempra Energy by 11.1% during the first quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 74,046 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,284,000 after purchasing an additional 7,415 shares during the period. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers increased its holdings in Sempra Energy by 34.6% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 175,509 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $12,524,000 after purchasing an additional 45,076 shares during the last quarter. 89.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Sempra Energy Stock Performance

Shares of SRE stock opened at $92.54 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 0.48. Sempra Energy has a 52 week low of $61.90 and a 52 week high of $95.77. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $90.46 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $82.54. The company has a market capitalization of $60.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.68.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.11 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.84 by $0.27. Sempra Energy had a net margin of 20.28% and a return on equity of 8.42%. The company had revenue of $3.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.99 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.89 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 13.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Sempra Energy will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.645 per share. This represents a $2.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 11th. Sempra Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 79.14%.

Insider Transactions at Sempra Energy

In related news, CAO Dyan Z. Wold sold 1,510 shares of Sempra Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.38, for a total value of $137,983.80. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 3,481 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $318,093.78. This trade represents a 30.25% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 4,322 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.55, for a total value of $400,001.10. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 11,325 shares in the company, valued at $1,048,128.75. The trade was a 27.62% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 55,129 shares of company stock worth $4,809,916. Company insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on SRE shares. Evercore ISI set a $105.00 target price on Sempra Energy and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 6th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $89.00 price target on shares of Sempra Energy and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Sempra Energy from $86.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 24th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Sempra Energy from $82.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Sempra Energy from $101.00 to $98.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Sempra Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $95.33.

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.