Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Sells 25,735 Shares of Sempra Energy $SRE

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System trimmed its stake in shares of Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) by 4.0% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 622,014 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 25,735 shares during the period. Sempra Energy accounts for approximately 1.2% of Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings, making the stock its 14th biggest position. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Sempra Energy were worth $60,441,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Bell Investment Advisors Inc boosted its holdings in Sempra Energy by 79.5% in the first quarter. Bell Investment Advisors Inc now owns 262 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Ares Financial Consulting LLC purchased a new stake in Sempra Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd raised its stake in Sempra Energy by 57.7% during the 4th quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd now owns 347 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. Key Financial Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy by 73.6% during the 4th quarter. Key Financial Inc now owns 361 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 153 shares during the period. Finally, Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy by 83.0% during the 4th quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 355 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 161 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SRE has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $105.00 price objective on shares of Sempra Energy in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Sempra Energy from $98.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 18th. TD Cowen initiated coverage on Sempra Energy in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Barclays cut their price target on Sempra Energy from $105.00 to $103.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of Sempra Energy from $105.00 to $103.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $103.15.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Sempra Energy news, EVP Caroline Ann Winn sold 8,000 shares of Sempra Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.55, for a total transaction of $724,400.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 25,164 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,278,600.20. The trade was a 24.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Diana L. Day sold 3,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.13, for a total transaction of $304,029.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 22,870 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,107,013.10. The trade was a 12.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 13,900 shares of company stock valued at $1,261,207. 0.31% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Sempra Energy Price Performance

NYSE SRE opened at $93.36 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $91.91 and its 200 day moving average is $92.24. Sempra Energy has a fifty-two week low of $73.85 and a fifty-two week high of $101.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a current ratio of 1.69. The company has a market capitalization of $61.03 billion, a PE ratio of 31.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.56.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.51 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.51. Sempra Energy had a return on equity of 8.20% and a net margin of 14.31%.The business had revenue of $3.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.10 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.44 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. Sempra Energy has set its FY 2027 guidance at 5.100-5.700 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 4.870-5.370 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Sempra Energy will post 5.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Sempra Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 25th will be issued a $0.6575 dividend. This represents a $2.63 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 25th. Sempra Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 89.15%.

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.