PGGM Investments Has $1.16 Million Holdings in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

PGGM Investments raised its position in Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 12.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 15,581 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,750 shares during the quarter. PGGM Investments’ holdings in Sempra were worth $1,164,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of SRE. Leisure Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of Sempra during the 4th quarter worth approximately $319,000. Intact Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Sempra by 240.2% in the fourth quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. now owns 76,200 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,694,000 after purchasing an additional 53,800 shares during the period. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI lifted its stake in shares of Sempra by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 28,928 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,162,000 after buying an additional 201 shares during the last quarter. Golden State Equity Partners boosted its holdings in shares of Sempra by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Golden State Equity Partners now owns 16,167 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,208,000 after buying an additional 338 shares during the period. Finally, Bahl & Gaynor Inc. raised its holdings in Sempra by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 4,338,565 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $324,221,000 after acquiring an additional 54,592 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com downgraded Sempra from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $82.00 price objective on shares of Sempra in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Mizuho lowered their target price on shares of Sempra from $83.00 to $79.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 25th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Sempra from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $76.00 to $84.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH started coverage on Sempra in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $81.50 price objective on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $82.14.

Sempra Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of SRE opened at $72.28 on Tuesday. 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 has a 52-week low of $63.75 and a 52-week high of $79.30. The firm has a market cap of $45.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.09, a PEG ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.71. The business’s fifty day moving average is $70.58 and its 200-day moving average is $71.75.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $3.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.01 billion. Sempra had a return on equity of 9.45% and a net margin of 18.26%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.17 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Sempra will post 4.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 21st were given a $0.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 20th. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.43%. This is a positive change from Sempra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 51.77%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Sempra news, insider Diana L. Day sold 3,937 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.21, for a total value of $280,353.77. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 18,145 shares in the company, valued at $1,292,105.45. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Sempra news, insider Diana L. Day sold 3,937 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.21, for a total transaction of $280,353.77. Following 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. Also, VP Trevor I. Mihalik sold 57,571 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.59, for a total transaction of $4,063,936.89. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 10,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $770,983.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 122,432 shares of company stock valued at $8,668,035. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.