Signaturefd LLC Increases Stock Position in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Signaturefd LLC boosted its stake in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 3.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 7,276 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 247 shares during the quarter. Signaturefd LLC’s holdings in Sempra were worth $638,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Sempra by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 10,452 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $917,000 after buying an additional 190 shares during the period. Cibc World Markets Corp lifted its position in shares of Sempra by 16.3% during the fourth quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp now owns 99,902 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $8,763,000 after purchasing an additional 13,995 shares in the last quarter. Greenwich Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Sempra by 14.1% during the fourth quarter. Greenwich Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,839 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $249,000 after purchasing an additional 350 shares in the last quarter. Ninepoint Partners LP lifted its position in shares of Sempra by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. Ninepoint Partners LP now owns 14,731 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,292,000 after purchasing an additional 902 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. lifted its position in shares of Sempra by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 28,774 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,524,000 after purchasing an additional 1,013 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Sempra Stock Up 0.4 %

SRE stock opened at $71.06 on Thursday. 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 twelve month low of $64.89 and a twelve month high of $95.77. The company’s 50 day moving average is $78.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $83.75. The stock has a market cap of $46.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.65, a PEG ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.76.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $1.50 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $3.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.73 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.13 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Sempra will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

The business 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 dividend of $0.645 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 20th. This represents a $2.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.63%. This is a boost from Sempra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 58.37%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on SRE shares. Barclays cut shares of Sempra from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $95.00 to $72.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Guggenheim reduced their price target on shares of Sempra from $95.00 to $87.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Argus cut shares of Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of Sempra from $92.00 to $78.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $99.00 to $76.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $81.50.

Insider Transactions at Sempra

In other Sempra news, Director Pablo Ferrero bought 2,600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $70.96 per share, for a total transaction of $184,496.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 15,649 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,110,453.04. The trade was a 19.92 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Michael N. Mears bought 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $67.70 per share, for a total transaction of $67,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 5,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $338,500. The trade was a 25.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have acquired 9,319 shares of company stock worth $651,676. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

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.