Signaturefd LLC Boosts Holdings in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Signaturefd LLC boosted its position in Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 3.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 7,276 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 247 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC’s holdings in Sempra were worth $638,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new position in Sempra in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Sempra in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Human Investing LLC purchased a new position in Sempra in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. grew its position in Sempra by 225.6% in the 4th quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 433 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LRI Investments LLC grew its position in Sempra by 180.4% in the 3rd quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 443 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 285 shares during the last quarter. 89.65% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sempra Trading Up 0.4 %

NYSE:SRE opened at $71.06 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $46.29 billion, a PE ratio of 15.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.76. 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 52-week low of $64.89 and a 52-week high of $95.77. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $78.80 and a 200-day simple moving average of $83.75.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last announced 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 net margin of 22.63% and a return on equity of 8.06%. The firm had revenue of $3.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.73 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.13 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Sempra will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 20th will be paid a $0.645 dividend. This is an increase from Sempra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 20th. This represents a $2.58 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.63%. Sempra’s payout ratio is presently 58.37%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on SRE. 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. Barclays lowered shares of Sempra from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $95.00 to $72.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price 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. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and set a $77.00 target price (down from $96.00) on shares of Sempra in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Argus lowered shares of Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Sempra presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $81.50.

Insider Activity at Sempra

In other news, Director Michael N. Mears bought 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $67.70 per share, with a total value of $67,700.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 5,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $338,500. This trade represents a 25.00 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Jeffrey W. Martin sold 49,737 shares of Sempra stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.94, for a total value of $4,125,186.78. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $165.88. This trade represents a 100.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders bought 9,319 shares of company stock valued at $651,676. 0.24% of the stock is owned by 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.