Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Reduces Holdings in Sempra Energy $SRE

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) by 13.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 4,489,123 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 708,890 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s holdings in Sempra Energy were worth $396,345,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Ares Financial Consulting LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Sempra Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Key Financial Inc raised its stake 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 worth $32,000 after buying an additional 153 shares during the period. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake 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 worth $32,000 after buying an additional 161 shares during the period. Board of the Pension Protection Fund acquired a new position in shares of Sempra Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Salomon & Ludwin LLC raised its stake in shares of Sempra Energy by 88.8% during the 4th quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 406 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 191 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on SRE shares. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on Sempra Energy from $105.00 to $103.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $105.00 price objective (up from $95.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Morgan Stanley set a $104.00 price objective on Sempra Energy and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Argus raised Sempra Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $100.00 price objective (up from $96.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a research note on Friday, March 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $102.67.

Sempra Energy Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of NYSE:SRE opened at $90.30 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 1.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. The business has a fifty day moving average of $93.75 and a two-hundred day moving average of $91.80. The stock has a market cap of $59.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.61, a PEG ratio of 3.38 and a beta of 0.56. Sempra Energy has a 52-week low of $73.06 and a 52-week high of $101.04.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.51. The company had revenue of $3.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.10 billion. Sempra Energy had a return on equity of 8.20% and a net margin of 14.31%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.44 EPS. 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. On average, research analysts expect that Sempra Energy will post 5.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Sempra Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 25th will be issued a $0.6575 dividend. This represents a $2.63 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 25th. Sempra Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 89.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Jennifer M. Kirk bought 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 12th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $93.44 per share, for a total transaction of $93,440.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 1,000 shares in the company, valued at $93,440. This represents a ? increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Diana L. Day sold 3,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.13, for a total value of $304,029.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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. Over the last quarter, insiders bought 6,192 shares of company stock worth $576,979 and sold 13,439 shares worth $1,243,713. Corporate insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

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.