Stablepoint Partners LLC Has $1.49 Million Stock Position in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Stablepoint Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 2.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 16,936 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 410 shares during the quarter. Stablepoint Partners LLC’s holdings in Sempra were worth $1,486,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SRE. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in Sempra by 0.4% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 34,324,893 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,870,591,000 after purchasing an additional 128,847 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Sempra by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 32,940,620 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,774,974,000 after buying an additional 1,539,026 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of Sempra by 9.1% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 18,978,605 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,587,181,000 after buying an additional 1,582,653 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of Sempra by 6.9% in the 2nd quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 13,452,912 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,023,228,000 after acquiring an additional 874,133 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Sempra by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 12,761,872 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,063,007,000 after acquiring an additional 145,873 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Sempra Price Performance

Sempra stock opened at $82.78 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $52.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.23, a P/E/G ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a quick ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $87.72 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $84.16. Sempra has a 52 week low of $66.40 and a 52 week high of $95.77.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.05 by ($0.16). Sempra had a return on equity of 8.06% and a net margin of 22.63%. The business had revenue of $2.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.54 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.08 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities 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. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 5th were given a $0.62 dividend. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 5th. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio is 54.63%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sempra

In related news, VP Trevor I. Mihalik sold 23,713 shares of Sempra stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 11,190 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,041,677.10. The trade was a 67.94 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Sempra from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $85.00 to $98.00 in a report on Friday, December 13th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Sempra in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $98.00 price objective for the company. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Sempra from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Sempra from $89.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Sempra from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Sempra currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $91.60.

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.