Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund Acquires 18,359 Shares of Sempra Energy $SRE

Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund raised its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) by 32.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 74,620 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 18,359 shares during the quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund’s holdings in Sempra Energy were worth $6,714,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vision Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Sempra Energy during the 3rd quarter worth about $214,000. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Sempra Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at about $228,000. Independent Solutions Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Sempra Energy by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Independent Solutions Wealth Management LLC now owns 26,399 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,375,000 after acquiring an additional 181 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc. lifted its position in Sempra Energy by 4.0% during the third quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 29,379 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,644,000 after acquiring an additional 1,141 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Financial Advisory Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy by 4.2% during the third quarter. Financial Advisory Partners LLC now owns 48,580 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,371,000 after acquiring an additional 1,939 shares during the period. 89.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other Sempra Energy news, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 4,322 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.55, for a total value of $400,001.10. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 11,325 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,048,128.75. This trade represents a 27.62% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Dyan Z. Wold sold 1,510 shares of Sempra Energy stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.38, for a total value of $137,983.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 3,481 shares in the company, valued at approximately $318,093.78. The trade was a 30.25% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 19,396 shares of company stock worth $1,785,606. Insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Sempra Energy Stock Performance

SRE opened at $88.82 on Friday. 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 52-week low of $61.90 and a 52-week high of $95.72. The firm has a market cap of $57.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.74. The business’s fifty day moving average is $90.28 and its 200-day moving average is $85.74.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.11 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.84 by $0.27. The business had revenue of $3.15 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.99 billion. Sempra Energy had a return on equity of 8.67% and a net margin of 15.63%.Sempra Energy’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.89 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Sempra Energy will post 4.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 11th will be given a dividend of $0.645 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 11th. This represents a $2.58 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. Sempra Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 79.14%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on SRE. Morgan Stanley set a $91.00 target price on Sempra Energy in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. Mizuho upped their price objective on Sempra Energy from $86.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 24th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Sempra Energy from $95.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. BTIG Research raised shares of Sempra Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Finally, UBS Group set a $96.00 price target on shares of Sempra Energy and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $96.17.

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.