Vicus Capital Acquires New Holdings in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Vicus Capital acquired a new stake in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 4,195 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $301,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Independence Bank of Kentucky increased its holdings in Sempra by 1,690.8% during the first quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 1,755 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $126,000 after buying an additional 1,657 shares during the period. Financial Management Professionals Inc. increased its holdings in Sempra by 16.7% during the first quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 4,960 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $356,000 after buying an additional 709 shares during the period. AMF Tjanstepension AB increased its holdings in Sempra by 75.9% during the first quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 1,087,061 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $78,115,000 after buying an additional 469,174 shares during the period. Brookmont Capital Management increased its holdings in Sempra by 2.9% during the first quarter. Brookmont Capital Management now owns 18,892 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,357,000 after buying an additional 532 shares during the period. Finally, Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Sempra during the first quarter valued at approximately $264,000. 89.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Sempra

In other Sempra news, Director Richard J. Mark bought 1,925 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 17th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $77.97 per share, for a total transaction of $150,092.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,420 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $422,597.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Sempra news, CAO Peter R. Wall sold 6,100 shares of Sempra stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.07, for a total value of $457,927.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 14,751 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,107,357.57. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Richard J. Mark acquired 1,925 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 17th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $77.97 per share, with a total value of $150,092.25. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 5,420 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $422,597.40. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Sempra Trading Up 0.2 %

NYSE:SRE opened at $76.06 on Friday. Sempra has a 12 month low of $63.75 and a 12 month high of $78.83. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $75.22 and a 200-day simple moving average of $73.02. The company has a current ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The company has a market capitalization of $47.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.85, a PEG ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.74.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $3.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.58 billion. Sempra had a net margin of 20.99% and a return on equity of 8.95%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 44.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.46 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Sempra will post 4.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Sempra Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 27th will be given a dividend of $0.62 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 27th. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.26%. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio is presently 54.93%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Sempra from $79.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $82.00 price target on shares of Sempra in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Sempra from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Sempra from $79.00 to $76.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, June 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Sempra from $79.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $82.10.

Sempra Profile

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.