Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Acquires 648,530 Shares of Sempra Energy $SRE

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) by 21.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,656,805 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 648,530 shares during the quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s holdings in Sempra Energy were worth $260,950,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. raised its stake in shares of Sempra Energy by 1.7% during the first quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 8,169 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $583,000 after buying an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. Pingora Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Sempra Energy by 48.3% during the 1st quarter. Pingora Partners LLC now owns 430 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 140 shares during the period. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft grew its position in shares of Sempra Energy by 5.0% in the 1st quarter. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft now owns 2,988 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $211,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares during the period. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Sempra Energy by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC now owns 11,334 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $809,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares during the period. Finally, Wesbanco Bank Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy by 5.1% in the first quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 3,212 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $229,000 after buying an additional 156 shares during the period. 89.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Sempra Energy Trading Up 1.1%

NYSE SRE opened at $80.28 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $52.38 billion, a PE ratio of 19.39, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a current ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. Sempra Energy has a 12 month low of $61.90 and a 12 month high of $95.77. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $79.84 and a 200-day moving average of $75.50.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.07. Sempra Energy had a net margin of 20.28% and a return on equity of 8.42%. The firm had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.35 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.89 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Sempra Energy will post 4.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 1,576 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total value of $126,080.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 15,600 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,248,000. This trade represents a 9.18% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Caroline Ann Winn sold 5,114 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.01, for a total transaction of $419,399.14. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 39,380 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,229,553.80. The trade was a 11.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.27% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SRE has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Sempra Energy from $71.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 26th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Sempra Energy in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $80.00 price target (up previously from $70.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $82.33.

About Sempra Energy

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.