Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Shares Purchased by SRS Capital Advisors Inc.

SRS Capital Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 874.8% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 7,818 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,016 shares during the quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Sempra were worth $686,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SRE. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new position in shares of Sempra during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Human Investing LLC acquired a new position in Sempra during the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Hollencrest Capital Management raised its stake in Sempra by 250.0% during the third quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 378 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 270 shares during the period. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Sempra by 225.6% in the 4th quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 433 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LRI Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of Sempra by 180.4% during the 3rd quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 443 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 285 shares during the period. 89.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Sempra from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $99.00 to $76.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Mizuho dropped their target price on shares of Sempra from $92.00 to $76.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Sempra from $100.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Sempra from $96.00 to $88.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $84.54.

Sempra Trading Down 0.6 %

NYSE SRE opened at $71.50 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $45.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.75, a PEG ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.78. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $83.13 and its 200-day simple moving average is $84.79. The company has a current ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. Sempra has a 52 week low of $64.89 and a 52 week high of $95.77.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.47 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $3.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.73 billion. Sempra had a net margin of 22.63% and a return on equity of 8.06%. The firm’s revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.13 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Sempra will post 4.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 20th will be issued a $0.645 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 20th. This represents a $2.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.61%. This is an increase from Sempra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio is currently 56.11%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sempra

In other Sempra news, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 2,755 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.93, for a total transaction of $225,717.15. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 13,905 shares in the company, valued at $1,139,236.65. This represents a 16.54 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Jeffrey W. Martin sold 49,737 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.94, for a total transaction of $4,125,186.78. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $165.88. The trade was a 100.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Sempra Profile

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.