Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC Increases Holdings in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 10.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 14,753 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,436 shares during the period. Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Sempra were worth $1,294,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Eastern Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Sempra during the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. Hollencrest Capital Management increased its holdings in Sempra by 250.0% during the third quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 378 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 270 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in Sempra in the second quarter worth approximately $33,000. LRI Investments LLC grew its position in shares of Sempra by 180.4% during the 3rd quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 443 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 285 shares during the period. Finally, Mather Group LLC. increased its stake in shares of Sempra by 35.5% in the 3rd quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 740 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 194 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Sempra in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. They set a “buy” rating and a $98.00 target price on the stock. Bank of America assumed coverage on Sempra in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $94.00 price objective for the company. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Sempra from $93.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Sempra from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Sempra from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $91.60.

Insider Activity at Sempra

In related news, VP Trevor I. Mihalik sold 23,713 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.09, for a total value of $2,207,443.17. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 11,190 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,041,677.10. This represents a 67.94 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Sempra Price Performance

NYSE:SRE traded down $2.93 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $79.89. The stock had a trading volume of 1,342,256 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,310,371. The stock has a market capitalization of $50.60 billion, a PE ratio of 17.60, a PEG ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.78. Sempra has a 52 week low of $66.40 and a 52 week high of $95.77. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $89.06 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $83.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a current ratio of 0.52.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by ($0.16). Sempra had a net margin of 22.63% and a return on equity of 8.06%. The business had revenue of $2.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.54 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.08 EPS. Sempra’s revenue for the quarter was down 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Sempra will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 5th will be given a dividend of $0.62 per share. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.10%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 5th. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.63%.

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.