James C. Yardley Buys 5,019 Shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Stock

Sempra (NYSE:SREGet Free Report) Director James C. Yardley purchased 5,019 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was bought at an average price of $69.74 per share, for a total transaction of $350,025.06. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,019 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $350,025.06. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Sempra Trading Up 3.6 %

Shares of SRE opened at $70.30 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. Sempra has a 12-month low of $64.89 and a 12-month high of $95.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.80 billion, a PE ratio of 15.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.76. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $79.57 and its 200-day simple moving average is $83.98.

Sempra (NYSE:SREGet Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.73 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.13 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Sempra will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 20th will be paid a $0.645 dividend. This is a positive change from Sempra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 20th. This represents a $2.58 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.67%. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio is presently 58.37%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sempra

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Lindbrook Capital LLC lifted its stake in Sempra by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 2,410 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $211,000 after buying an additional 124 shares during the period. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Sempra by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 8,194 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $719,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Sempra by 5.1% in 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 in the last quarter. MJP Associates Inc. ADV increased its holdings in shares of Sempra by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. MJP Associates Inc. ADV now owns 6,195 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $543,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Sempra by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 2,639 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $232,000 after acquiring an additional 126 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on SRE. Guggenheim reduced their price objective on Sempra from $95.00 to $87.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Sempra from $96.00 to $88.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $99.00 to $76.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Mizuho reduced their price objective on Sempra from $92.00 to $76.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Sempra from $100.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $81.50.

Check Out Our Latest Analysis on SRE

Sempra Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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.

See Also

Insider Buying and Selling by Quarter for Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Receive News & Ratings for Sempra Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Sempra and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.