Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Shares Purchased by Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P.

Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. increased its position in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 623.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 17,359 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 14,959 shares during the quarter. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P.’s holdings in Sempra were worth $1,522,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of SRE. FMR LLC raised its holdings in Sempra by 9.1% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 18,978,605 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,587,181,000 after purchasing an additional 1,582,653 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Sempra by 4.9% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 32,940,620 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,774,974,000 after purchasing an additional 1,539,026 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Sempra during the fourth quarter worth $123,614,000. National Bank of Canada FI raised its holdings in Sempra by 201.2% during the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 620,394 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $51,882,000 after purchasing an additional 414,406 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Unigestion Holding SA acquired a new position in Sempra during the third quarter worth $33,023,000. 89.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on SRE shares. Mizuho reduced their price objective on Sempra from $92.00 to $76.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $99.00 to $76.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and set a $77.00 price target (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. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on Sempra from $92.00 to $78.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. 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 currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $81.58.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sempra

In related news, Director James C. Yardley acquired 5,019 shares of Sempra stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were bought at an average price of $69.74 per share, for a total transaction of $350,025.06. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 5,019 shares in the company, valued at $350,025.06. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Pablo Ferrero acquired 2,600 shares of Sempra stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The shares were bought at an average price of $70.96 per share, for a total transaction of $184,496.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 15,649 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,110,453.04. This represents a 19.92 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders bought 9,319 shares of company stock valued at $651,676. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Sempra Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SRE opened at $69.56 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $45.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.32, a P/E/G 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 business has a fifty day simple moving average of $78.36 and a 200-day simple moving average of $83.57.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.73 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.13 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Sempra will post 4.76 EPS for the current year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 20th will be given a dividend of $0.645 per share. This represents a $2.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.71%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 20th. This is an increase from Sempra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. Sempra’s payout ratio is 58.37%.

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.