Tower Research Capital LLC TRC Raises Stock Holdings in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its holdings in Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 8.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 33,833 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,639 shares during the quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC’s holdings in Sempra were worth $2,968,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in Sempra in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in Sempra during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Sempra in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Sempra during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, TCTC Holdings LLC raised its position in shares of Sempra by 265.2% during the 4th quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 336 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 244 shares during the last quarter. 89.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Justin Christopher Bird sold 4,817 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.23, for a total transaction of $343,114.91. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 19,778 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,408,786.94. This represents a 19.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Jeffrey W. Martin sold 49,737 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2 shares in the company, valued at approximately $165.88. The trade was a 100.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have bought 9,319 shares of company stock worth $651,676 and have sold 57,309 shares worth $4,694,019. 0.27% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on SRE. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on Sempra from $77.00 to $75.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. UBS Group downgraded Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $95.00 to $78.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Barclays lowered shares of Sempra from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $95.00 to $72.00 in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Guggenheim dropped their price objective on shares of Sempra from $95.00 to $87.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $99.00 to $76.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $80.31.

Sempra Price Performance

NYSE:SRE opened at $70.40 on Tuesday. Sempra has a 52 week low of $61.90 and a 52 week high of $95.77. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $72.17 and its two-hundred day moving average is $81.35. The company has a market capitalization of $45.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a quick ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.47 by $0.03. Sempra had a net margin of 22.63% and a return on equity of 8.06%. The company had revenue of $3.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.73 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.13 earnings per share. Sempra’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Sempra will post 4.76 EPS for the current year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 20th were given a $0.645 dividend. This is a positive change from Sempra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 20th. This represents a $2.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.66%. Sempra’s payout ratio is presently 58.37%.

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.