Xponance Inc. Grows Position in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Xponance Inc. increased its position in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 5.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 83,197 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 4,174 shares during the quarter. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in Sempra were worth $6,217,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Sempra by 842.9% in the 2nd quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 264 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 236 shares during the last quarter. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Sempra in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. PrairieView Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Sempra by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. PrairieView Partners LLC now owns 376 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 188 shares during the last quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors grew its stake in shares of Sempra by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors now owns 380 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Essex Investment Management Co. LLC grew its stake in shares of Sempra by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. Essex Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 390 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 195 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Sempra

In related news, EVP Justin Christopher Bird sold 5,063 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.22, for a total value of $360,586.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 19,712 shares in the company, valued at $1,403,888.64. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, VP Trevor I. Mihalik sold 57,571 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.59, for a total value of $4,063,936.89. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 10,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $770,983.98. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Justin Christopher Bird sold 5,063 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.22, for a total value of $360,586.86. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 19,712 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,403,888.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 156,622 shares of company stock worth $11,089,713. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Sempra Stock Performance

Shares of SRE stock opened at $70.09 on Friday. Sempra has a 1 year low of $63.75 and a 1 year high of $79.43. The stock has a market cap of $44.31 billion, a PE ratio of 14.63, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.71. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $70.39 and a 200 day moving average price of $71.52. 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 (NYSE:SRE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.02. Sempra had a return on equity of 9.45% and a net margin of 18.26%. The company had revenue of $3.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.01 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.17 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Sempra will post 4.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 21st were paid a $0.62 dividend. This is a positive change from Sempra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.54%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 20th. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio is presently 51.77%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $82.00 target price on shares of Sempra in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH began coverage on Sempra in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $81.50 price target on the stock. Mizuho decreased their price target on Sempra from $83.00 to $79.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Sempra from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $76.00 to $84.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Sempra from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. One investment 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, Sempra has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $82.14.

Sempra 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.