Pablo Ferrero Acquires 2,600 Shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Stock

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Director Pablo Ferrero bought 2,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The shares were bought at an average price of $70.96 per share, with a total value of $184,496.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 15,649 shares in the company, valued at $1,110,453.04. This trade represents a 19.92 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Sempra Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:SRE traded up $0.82 on Monday, hitting $71.03. The company had a trading volume of 4,759,420 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,290,707. The stock has a market cap of $46.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.65, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.76. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $79.31 and a 200 day moving average price of $83.92. Sempra has a 1-year low of $64.89 and a 1-year high of $95.77. The company has a current ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $1.50 earnings per share 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 net margin of 22.63% and a return on equity of 8.06%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.13 earnings per share. Analysts expect 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 paid a $0.645 dividend. This is a positive change 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 dividend yield of 3.63%. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 58.37%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Guggenheim reduced their target price on shares of Sempra from $95.00 to $87.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $99.00 to $76.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $77.00 price objective (down previously from $96.00) on shares of Sempra in a report on Monday, March 3rd. UBS Group downgraded Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $95.00 to $78.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Sempra from $100.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $81.50.

Institutional Trading of Sempra

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Lindbrook Capital LLC lifted its stake in Sempra by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 2,410 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $211,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Sempra by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 8,194 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $719,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Sempra by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,585 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $227,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. MJP Associates Inc. ADV grew its position in Sempra by 2.1% during the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Sempra by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 2,639 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $232,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares in the last quarter. 89.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Sempra

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.