Michael N. Mears Buys 1,000 Shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Stock

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Director Michael N. Mears acquired 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $67.70 per share, with a total value of $67,700.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 5,000 shares in the company, valued at $338,500. The trade was a 25.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Sempra Trading Down 1.6 %

Shares of SRE stock opened at $67.84 on Friday. Sempra has a 1 year low of $64.89 and a 1 year high of $95.77. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $79.92 and a 200-day moving average price of $84.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.52 and a quick ratio of 0.47. The company has a market cap of $44.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.94, a PEG ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.76.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.47 by $0.03. Sempra had a net margin of 22.63% and a return on equity of 8.06%. The firm had revenue of $3.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.73 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.13 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Sempra will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 20th will be issued a $0.645 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 20th. This represents a $2.58 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.80%. This is an increase from Sempra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio is currently 58.37%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SRE has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on shares of Sempra from $92.00 to $78.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and issued a $77.00 price objective (down from $96.00) on shares of Sempra in a report on Monday, March 3rd. UBS Group lowered shares of Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $95.00 to $78.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Sempra from $100.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Sempra from $96.00 to $88.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Sempra presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $81.50.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new position in Sempra in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in Sempra in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Sempra in the 4th quarter worth $29,000. TCTC Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in Sempra by 265.2% in the 4th quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 336 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 244 shares during the period. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Sempra in the 4th quarter worth $29,000. 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.