Bahl & Gaynor Inc. Purchases 54,592 Shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Bahl & Gaynor Inc. increased its position in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 1.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,338,565 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 54,592 shares during the period. Sempra accounts for 1.9% of Bahl & Gaynor Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. owned about 0.69% of Sempra worth $324,221,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Sempra in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. PrairieView Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Sempra by 100.0% during the third quarter. PrairieView Partners LLC now owns 376 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 188 shares during the last quarter. Essex Investment Management Co. LLC grew its holdings in shares of Sempra by 100.0% during the third quarter. Essex Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 390 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 195 shares during the last quarter. Monetary Management Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Sempra by 100.0% during the third quarter. Monetary Management Group Inc. now owns 400 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wolverine Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Sempra by 100.0% during the third quarter. Wolverine Asset Management LLC now owns 400 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Sempra Stock Performance

Shares of SRE stock opened at $71.32 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $45.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.89, a P/E/G ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a current ratio of 0.54. Sempra has a 52 week low of $63.75 and a 52 week high of $79.30. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $70.55 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $71.68.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.11 by $0.02. Sempra had a net margin of 18.26% and a return on equity of 9.45%. The company had revenue of $3.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.01 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.17 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Sempra will post 4.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 21st were given a $0.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 20th. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.48%. This is a positive change from Sempra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. Sempra’s payout ratio is 51.77%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $82.00 price objective on shares of Sempra in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH initiated coverage on shares of Sempra in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $81.50 price target on the stock. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Sempra from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Sempra from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 21st. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Sempra from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $82.14.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Trevor I. Mihalik sold 57,571 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.59, for a total value of $4,063,936.89. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 10,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $770,983.98. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, insider Diana L. Day sold 3,937 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.21, for a total transaction of $280,353.77. Following the sale, the insider now owns 18,145 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,292,105.45. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Trevor I. Mihalik sold 57,571 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.59, for a total transaction of $4,063,936.89. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 10,922 shares in the company, valued at approximately $770,983.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 122,432 shares of company stock valued at $8,668,035 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

About Sempra

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.