Insider Buying: Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Director Purchases 2,600 Shares of Stock

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Director Pablo Ferrero purchased 2,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $70.96 per share, for a total transaction of $184,496.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 15,649 shares in the company, valued at $1,110,453.04. This trade represents a 19.92 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Sempra Stock Up 1.2 %

SRE stock opened at $71.03 on Tuesday. Sempra has a 52 week low of $64.89 and a 52 week high of $95.77. The company has a market capitalization of $46.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.76. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $79.31 and its two-hundred day moving average is $83.92. 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 (NYSE:SRE) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $3.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.73 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.13 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Sempra will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.645 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 20th. This is a positive change from Sempra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. This represents a $2.58 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.63%. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio is currently 58.37%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sempra

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Sempra by 12.7% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 159,975 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $14,033,000 after acquiring an additional 17,974 shares in the last quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. increased its stake in shares of Sempra by 51.8% during the 4th quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 14,456 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,268,000 after purchasing an additional 4,936 shares during the last quarter. Mattson Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sempra during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH increased its stake in shares of Sempra by 26.5% during the 4th quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH now owns 8,670 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $761,000 after purchasing an additional 1,815 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Park Square Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sempra during the 4th quarter worth $41,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on SRE. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Sempra from $96.00 to $88.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. UBS Group downgraded shares of Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $95.00 to $78.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $77.00 target price (down previously from $96.00) on shares of Sempra in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $99.00 to $76.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Guggenheim decreased their price target on shares of Sempra from $95.00 to $87.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Four research 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 a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $81.50.

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.