Sempra Energy (SRE) Stake Raised by Beach Investment Management LLC.

Beach Investment Management LLC. raised its stake in shares of Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) by 959.7% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 125,148 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 113,338 shares during the period. Sempra Energy accounts for about 1.4% of Beach Investment Management LLC.’s portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest position. Beach Investment Management LLC.’s holdings in Sempra Energy were worth $14,110,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of SRE. BlackRock Inc. increased its stake in shares of Sempra Energy by 2,725.7% in the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 19,968,824 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,206,556,000 after buying an additional 19,262,128 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Sempra Energy by 3.6% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 17,366,648 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,919,015,000 after buying an additional 596,498 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in shares of Sempra Energy by 17.9% in the first quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,581,705 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $395,778,000 after buying an additional 544,234 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of Sempra Energy by 4.9% in the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 8,542,152 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $943,907,000 after buying an additional 400,464 shares during the period. Finally, Westpac Banking Corp increased its stake in shares of Sempra Energy by 61.3% in the first quarter. Westpac Banking Corp now owns 768,327 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $88,269,000 after buying an additional 292,041 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.54% of the company’s stock.

Sempra Energy (NYSE SRE) traded up 0.14% during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $116.96. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 566,722 shares. Sempra Energy has a 1-year low of $92.95 and a 1-year high of $117.97. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $113.66 and a 200 day moving average price of $111.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.37 billion, a PE ratio of 17.30 and a beta of 0.54.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.80 by $0.30. Sempra Energy had a return on equity of 9.11% and a net margin of 15.51%. The business had revenue of $2.53 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.46 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.79 earnings per share. Sempra Energy’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Sempra Energy will post $5.23 EPS for the current year.

SRE has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Sempra Energy from $133.00 to $129.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 28th. BidaskClub downgraded shares of Sempra Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, July 31st. Barclays PLC downgraded shares of Sempra Energy from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $121.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Thursday, June 8th. Zacks Investment Research downgraded shares of Sempra Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 8th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a “buy” rating and set a $117.00 price target on shares of Sempra Energy in a research report on Monday, July 24th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. The stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $121.00.

In other Sempra Energy news, CEO Debra L. Reed sold 23,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.43, for a total transaction of $2,608,890.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 112,345 shares in the company, valued at $12,743,293.35. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Sempra Energy

Sempra Energy is a holding company. The Company’s principal operating units are Sempra Utilities, which includes its San Diego Gas & Electric Company (SDG&E), Southern California Gas Company (SoCalGas) and Sempra South American Utilities segments, and Sempra Infrastructure, which includes its Sempra Mexico, Sempra Renewables and Sempra LNG & Midstream segments.