Insider Buying: Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Director Purchases 700 Shares of Stock

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Director Cynthia J. Warner purchased 700 shares of Sempra stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $70.65 per share, for a total transaction of $49,455.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 8,759 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $618,823.35. The trade was a 8.69 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link.

Sempra Trading Down 0.6 %

SRE stock opened at $69.23 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $45.10 billion, a PE ratio of 15.25, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.76. Sempra has a 12 month low of $64.89 and a 12 month high of $95.77. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $81.42 and its 200 day moving average is $84.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.52 and a quick ratio of 0.47.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.47 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $3.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.73 billion. Sempra had a net margin of 22.63% and a return on equity of 8.06%. The firm’s revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.13 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Sempra will post 4.76 EPS for the current year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 20th will be paid a $0.645 dividend. This represents a $2.58 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.73%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 20th. This is an increase from Sempra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 58.37%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. 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. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and issued a $77.00 price target (down previously from $96.00) on shares of Sempra in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Mizuho reduced their price target on shares of Sempra from $92.00 to $76.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $99.00 to $76.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, UBS Group cut shares of Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $95.00 to $78.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Sempra has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $81.50.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new position in Sempra during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in Sempra during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Sempra during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Sempra during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, TCTC Holdings LLC increased its position in Sempra by 265.2% during the 4th quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 336 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 244 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

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.