Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Shares Sold by Net Worth Advisory Group

Net Worth Advisory Group reduced its position in Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 8.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,706 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 244 shares during the quarter. Net Worth Advisory Group’s holdings in Sempra were worth $237,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Independent Advisor Alliance grew its holdings in shares of Sempra by 228.3% in the fourth quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 21,149 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,855,000 after purchasing an additional 14,708 shares in the last quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its position in Sempra by 29.8% in the 4th quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 4,572 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $401,000 after buying an additional 1,051 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Sempra by 5.9% in the fourth quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 98,293 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $8,623,000 after acquiring an additional 5,482 shares in the last quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC increased its position in shares of Sempra by 15.1% during the fourth quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC now owns 3,784 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $332,000 after acquiring an additional 496 shares during the period. Finally, Sowell Financial Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Sempra by 14.5% in the fourth quarter. Sowell Financial Services LLC now owns 19,475 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,708,000 after acquiring an additional 2,462 shares in the last quarter. 89.65% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on SRE. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on Sempra from $92.00 to $78.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Sempra from $96.00 to $88.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $77.00 target price (down previously from $96.00) on shares of Sempra in a report on Monday, March 3rd. UBS Group cut shares of Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $95.00 to $78.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $99.00 to $76.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Sempra has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $81.50.

Sempra Price Performance

Shares of SRE opened at $68.70 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $80.68 and a 200 day moving average price of $84.27. The stock has a market cap of $44.75 billion, a PE ratio of 15.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.76. Sempra has a 1-year low of $64.89 and a 1-year high of $95.77. 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 (NYSE:SRE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.47 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $3.76 billion for 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%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.13 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate 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. Investors of record on Thursday, March 20th will be given 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 3.76%. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio is 58.37%.

Insider Activity at Sempra

In other Sempra news, Director Michael N. Mears bought 1,000 shares of Sempra stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $67.70 per share, with a total value of $67,700.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 5,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $338,500. This represents a 25.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Cynthia J. Warner purchased 700 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $70.65 per share, for a total transaction of $49,455.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 8,759 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $618,823.35. The trade was a 8.69 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.27% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.