Avantax Advisory Services Inc. Increases Stock Position in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 3.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 66,631 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,948 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Sempra were worth $5,845,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Lindbrook Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Sempra by 5.4% during the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 2,410 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $211,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Sempra by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,585 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $227,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Avantax Planning Partners Inc. grew its position in shares of Sempra by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Avantax Planning Partners Inc. now owns 7,423 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $651,000 after acquiring an additional 147 shares during the last quarter. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI grew its position in shares of Sempra by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI now owns 6,677 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $586,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kingsview Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Sempra by 0.3% during the third quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 46,518 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,890,000 after acquiring an additional 158 shares during the last quarter. 89.65% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Sempra

In other news, Director James C. Yardley purchased 5,019 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $69.74 per share, with a total value of $350,025.06. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 5,019 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $350,025.06. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 2,755 shares of Sempra 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 13,905 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,139,236.65. This trade represents a 16.54 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders bought 6,719 shares of company stock valued at $467,180 in the last 90 days. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Sempra Price Performance

Sempra stock opened at $70.30 on Friday. Sempra has a one year low of $64.89 and a one year high of $95.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a current ratio of 0.52. The business has a fifty day moving average of $79.57 and a two-hundred day moving average of $83.97. The company has a market cap of $45.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.76.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.47 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $3.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.73 billion. Sempra had a return on equity of 8.06% and a net margin of 22.63%. Sempra’s quarterly revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.13 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Sempra will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.645 per share. This represents a $2.58 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.67%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 20th. This is an increase from Sempra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. Sempra’s payout ratio is 58.37%.

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.