Quaero Capital S.A. Raises Stake in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Quaero Capital S.A. boosted its position in Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 9.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,080 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 950 shares during the period. Quaero Capital S.A.’s holdings in Sempra were worth $972,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of SRE. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its holdings in Sempra by 5,017.6% in the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 10,184 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $852,000 after acquiring an additional 9,985 shares during the period. CX Institutional raised its stake in shares of Sempra by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter. CX Institutional now owns 3,083 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $258,000 after buying an additional 161 shares during the period. Creative Planning raised its stake in shares of Sempra by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 79,062 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,612,000 after buying an additional 336 shares during the period. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Sempra by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,980 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $333,000 after buying an additional 186 shares during the period. Finally, Vontobel Holding Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Sempra by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 11,425 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $955,000 after buying an additional 353 shares during the period. 89.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Sempra news, CEO Jeffrey W. Martin sold 49,737 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.94, for a total transaction of $4,125,186.78. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $165.88. This represents a 100.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 2,755 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.93, for a total transaction of $225,717.15. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 13,905 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,139,236.65. This represents a 16.54 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 76,205 shares of company stock worth $6,558,347. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on SRE. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Sempra from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Sempra in a report on Thursday, October 24th. They set a “buy” rating and a $98.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley upgraded Sempra from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $85.00 to $98.00 in a report on Friday, December 13th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on Sempra from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Sempra from $93.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $91.20.

Sempra Stock Performance

SRE opened at $84.19 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $53.32 billion, a PE ratio of 18.54, a P/E/G ratio of 2.09 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 business has a fifty day simple moving average of $84.72 and a 200-day simple moving average of $84.60. Sempra has a fifty-two week low of $66.40 and a fifty-two week high of $95.77.

Sempra Company 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.