Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Stake Increased by Pure Financial Advisors LLC

Pure Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 0.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 35,057 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 259 shares during the period. Pure Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Sempra were worth $3,075,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Eastern Bank acquired a new position in Sempra in the third quarter worth about $28,000. Hollencrest Capital Management grew its position in shares of Sempra by 250.0% in the 3rd quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 378 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 270 shares in the last quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Sempra by 225.6% in the 4th quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 433 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC raised 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Mather Group LLC. raised its position in shares of Sempra by 35.5% during the 3rd quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 740 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $62,000 after acquiring an additional 194 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Sempra Stock Up 1.5 %

SRE opened at $85.24 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $88.50 and its 200 day moving average price is $83.92. 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 stock has a market cap of $53.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.77, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.78. Sempra has a 12 month low of $66.40 and a 12 month high of $95.77.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by ($0.16). The business had revenue of $2.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.54 billion. Sempra had a net margin of 22.63% and a return on equity of 8.06%. Sempra’s revenue for the quarter was down 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.08 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Sempra will post 4.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Sempra Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 5th were issued a $0.62 dividend. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 5th. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.63%.

Insider Activity at Sempra

In other Sempra news, VP Trevor I. Mihalik sold 23,713 shares of the business’s 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 in the company, valued at approximately $1,041,677.10. The trade was a 67.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Sempra from $93.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Sempra from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $85.00 to $98.00 in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Sempra from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Sempra from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on Sempra from $89.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $91.60.

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.