Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Shares Sold by Prudent Man Advisors LLC

Prudent Man Advisors LLC trimmed its position in Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 9.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 9,685 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 990 shares during the period. Prudent Man Advisors LLC’s holdings in Sempra were worth $850,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of SRE. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new position in shares of Sempra in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Human Investing LLC bought a new position in Sempra during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Hollencrest Capital Management boosted its holdings in Sempra by 250.0% in the third quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 378 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 270 shares during the period. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. increased its stake in Sempra by 225.6% during the fourth quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 433 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LRI Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of Sempra by 180.4% during the third quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 443 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 285 shares during the period. 89.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Sempra Price Performance

SRE opened at $71.50 on Friday. 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 has a one year low of $64.89 and a one year high of $95.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.78. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $83.13 and its 200-day simple moving average is $84.70.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.47 by $0.03. Sempra had a return on equity of 8.06% and a net margin of 22.63%. The firm had revenue of $3.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.73 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.13 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Sempra will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.645 per share. This represents a $2.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.61%. This is an increase from Sempra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 20th. Sempra’s payout ratio is 56.11%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Sempra from $96.00 to $88.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Guggenheim decreased their price target on shares of Sempra from $95.00 to $87.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Mizuho dropped their price objective on Sempra from $92.00 to $76.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Sempra from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Barclays downgraded Sempra from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $95.00 to $72.00 in a research report on Thursday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $84.54.

Insider Activity at Sempra

In other news, CEO Jeffrey W. Martin sold 49,737 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.94, for a total value of $4,125,186.78. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $165.88. This represents a 100.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 2,755 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.93, for a total value of $225,717.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 13,905 shares in the company, valued at $1,139,236.65. This represents a 16.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.