Insider Buying: Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Director Acquires 5,019 Shares of Stock

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Director James C. Yardley acquired 5,019 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $69.74 per share, for a total transaction of $350,025.06. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 5,019 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $350,025.06. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Sempra Trading Up 3.6 %

Shares of Sempra stock opened at $70.30 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $79.57 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $83.97. 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 has a fifty-two week low of $64.89 and a fifty-two week high of $95.77. The company has a market cap of $45.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.76.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.47 by $0.03. Sempra had a return on equity of 8.06% and a net margin of 22.63%. The firm had revenue of $3.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.73 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.13 EPS. Sempra’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 fiscal 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 issued a $0.645 dividend. This represents a $2.58 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 20th. This is a positive change from Sempra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. Sempra’s payout ratio is presently 58.37%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sempra

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Centaurus Financial Inc. raised its position in shares of Sempra by 51.8% during the 4th quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 14,456 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,268,000 after purchasing an additional 4,936 shares during the last quarter. Mattson Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in Sempra during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH raised its holdings in shares of Sempra by 26.5% during the fourth quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH now owns 8,670 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $761,000 after acquiring an additional 1,815 shares during the last quarter. Park Square Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Sempra in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new stake in shares of Sempra in the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,462,000. 89.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on SRE. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $77.00 price target (down previously from $96.00) on shares of Sempra in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Mizuho cut their price target on shares of Sempra from $92.00 to $76.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $99.00 to $76.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on shares of Sempra from $92.00 to $78.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. 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 report 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 MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $81.50.

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.