4,539 Shares in Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Bought by GAMMA Investing LLC

GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new position in Sempra (NYSE:SRE) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 4,539 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $325,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Sempra by 101.8% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 62,117,948 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,225,884,000 after buying an additional 31,334,782 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in Sempra by 101.4% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 24,206,231 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,646,750,000 after purchasing an additional 12,184,568 shares during the period. Newport Trust Company LLC increased its position in Sempra by 104.0% during the 3rd quarter. Newport Trust Company LLC now owns 14,416,527 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $980,756,000 after purchasing an additional 7,348,746 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its position in Sempra by 147.0% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 14,360,225 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $976,926,000 after purchasing an additional 8,546,205 shares during the period. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its position in shares of Sempra by 109.0% in the 3rd quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 12,154,272 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $826,855,000 after buying an additional 6,338,545 shares during the period. 89.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sempra Price Performance

NYSE SRE opened at $72.04 on Thursday. Sempra has a 52 week low of $63.75 and a 52 week high of $79.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.04, a PEG ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a quick ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $70.50 and a 200-day moving average price of $71.66.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.11 by $0.02. Sempra had a net margin of 18.26% and a return on equity of 9.45%. The firm had revenue of $3.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.01 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.17 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Sempra will post 4.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 21st were issued a $0.62 dividend. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.44%. This is a positive change from Sempra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 20th. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.77%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on SRE. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Sempra from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Sempra from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $82.00 price target on shares of Sempra in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Mizuho dropped their price target on shares of Sempra from $83.00 to $79.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH assumed coverage on shares of Sempra in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $81.50 price target on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $82.14.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Diana L. Day sold 3,937 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.21, for a total value of $280,353.77. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 18,145 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,292,105.45. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Jeffrey W. Martin sold 34,190 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.83, for a total transaction of $2,421,677.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2 shares in the company, valued at approximately $141.66. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Diana L. Day sold 3,937 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.21, for a total value of $280,353.77. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 18,145 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,292,105.45. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 156,622 shares of company stock valued at $11,089,713. 0.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.