O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC Buys 24,629 Shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 36.7% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 91,691 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 24,629 shares during the period. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Sempra were worth $8,043,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Lindbrook Capital LLC boosted its stake in Sempra by 5.4% during 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 last quarter. Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. grew 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 valued at $227,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Avantax Planning Partners Inc. increased its position in Sempra by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Avantax Planning Partners Inc. now owns 7,423 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $651,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares during the last quarter. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI raised its stake in Sempra by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI now owns 6,677 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $586,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc lifted its position in Sempra by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 3,210 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $295,000 after purchasing an additional 159 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Guggenheim decreased their target price 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. Mizuho lowered their price objective on Sempra from $92.00 to $76.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and set a $77.00 target price (down previously from $96.00) on shares of Sempra in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Argus downgraded Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Sempra from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Sempra presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $81.33.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Pablo Ferrero purchased 2,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $70.96 per share, with a total value of $184,496.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 15,649 shares in the company, valued at $1,110,453.04. This represents a 19.92 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 2,755 shares of Sempra stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.93, for a total transaction of $225,717.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 13,905 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,139,236.65. The trade was a 16.54 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have acquired 9,319 shares of company stock worth $651,676. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Sempra Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:SRE opened at $71.57 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $76.65 and its 200 day moving average is $82.99. The stock has a market cap of $46.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.76. Sempra has a 52-week low of $64.89 and a 52-week high of $95.77. 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 (NYSE:SRE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $1.50 EPS 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 last year, the firm posted $1.13 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Sempra will post 4.76 EPS for the current year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 20th will be given a $0.645 dividend. This represents a $2.58 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 20th. This is a boost from Sempra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio is presently 58.37%.

Sempra 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.