Korea Investment CORP Boosts Stock Position in Sempra Energy $SRE

Korea Investment CORP raised its holdings in Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) by 8.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 419,330 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 31,738 shares during the period. Korea Investment CORP’s holdings in Sempra Energy were worth $37,731,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Sempra Energy by 14.2% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 75,725,594 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,813,784,000 after buying an additional 9,396,652 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Sempra Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at $701,649,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in Sempra Energy by 106.3% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 10,428,007 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $938,325,000 after acquiring an additional 5,374,277 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP grew its holdings in Sempra Energy by 786.1% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 2,957,399 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $224,082,000 after acquiring an additional 2,623,637 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp grew 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 worth $208,435,000 after acquiring an additional 2,448,415 shares in the last quarter. 89.65% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Sempra Energy

In related news, CFO Karen L. Sedgwick sold 4,872 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.58, for a total transaction of $451,049.76. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 39,029 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,613,304.82. The trade was a 11.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.27% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on SRE shares. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Sempra Energy in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Barclays set a $95.00 price target on Sempra Energy and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $100.00 price objective (up from $96.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a research note on Friday. Argus raised Sempra Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Sempra Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Sempra Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $100.00.

Sempra Energy Stock Performance

SRE stock opened at $93.49 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $90.37 and a 200 day simple moving average of $89.36. The company has a market capitalization of $61.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.87, a PEG ratio of 3.47 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. Sempra Energy has a fifty-two week low of $61.90 and a fifty-two week high of $97.44.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $1.28 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.16. Sempra Energy had a net margin of 13.27% and a return on equity of 8.22%. The firm had revenue of $3.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.82 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.50 EPS. Sempra Energy’s quarterly revenue was down .2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Sempra Energy will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.6575 per share. This is a boost from Sempra Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. This represents a $2.63 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 19th. Sempra Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 93.48%.

Sempra Energy Profile

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.