Cynthia J. Warner Buys 700 Shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Stock

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Director Cynthia J. Warner purchased 700 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $70.65 per share, for a total transaction of $49,455.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 8,759 shares in the company, valued at $618,823.35. This represents a 8.69 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Sempra Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of SRE opened at $69.23 on Friday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $81.42 and its 200-day simple moving average is $84.42. Sempra has a 1 year low of $64.89 and a 1 year high of $95.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.76. 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 released 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 company had revenue of $3.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.73 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.13 EPS. Sempra’s quarterly revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect 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 dividend of $0.645 per share. This represents a $2.58 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.73%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 20th. This is a positive change from Sempra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio is presently 58.37%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SRE has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Sempra from $100.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. UBS Group cut Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $95.00 to $78.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $99.00 to $76.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on Sempra from $92.00 to $78.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Guggenheim lowered their price target on Sempra from $95.00 to $87.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Sempra currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $81.50.

Institutional Trading of Sempra

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in Sempra by 633.4% during the 4th quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 29,917 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,624,000 after buying an additional 25,838 shares during the period. Unigestion Holding SA bought a new position in Sempra in the 3rd quarter valued at $33,023,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in Sempra by 8.8% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,428,132 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $286,695,000 after acquiring an additional 278,183 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its position in Sempra by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 357,107 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,865,000 after acquiring an additional 6,709 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC bought a new position in Sempra in the 3rd quarter valued at $675,000. 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.