3,256 Shares in Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Acquired by SVB Wealth LLC

SVB Wealth LLC bought a new position in Sempra (NYSE:SRE) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 3,256 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $286,000.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new stake in Sempra in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Human Investing LLC bought a new stake in Sempra in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Hollencrest Capital Management lifted its position in Sempra by 250.0% in the 3rd quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 378 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 270 shares during the last quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. lifted its position in Sempra by 225.6% in the 4th quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 433 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LRI Investments LLC lifted its position in Sempra by 180.4% in the third quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 443 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 285 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Sempra Price Performance

Shares of Sempra stock opened at $72.01 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The company has a market cap of $46.91 billion, a PE ratio of 15.86, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.78. The business has a 50 day moving average of $82.15 and a 200 day moving average of $84.58. Sempra has a 52 week low of $64.89 and a 52 week high of $95.77.

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

Sempra Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 20th will be issued a $0.645 dividend. This is an increase from Sempra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 20th. This represents a $2.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.58%. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio is 58.37%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Guggenheim lowered their price objective on Sempra from $95.00 to $87.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on Sempra from $92.00 to $78.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Barclays downgraded Sempra from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $95.00 to $72.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $99.00 to $76.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, UBS Group downgraded Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $95.00 to $78.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $81.54.

Sempra Company 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.