Sempra (NYSE:SRE) EVP Sells $343,114.91 in Stock

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) EVP Justin Christopher Bird sold 4,817 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.23, for a total value of $343,114.91. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 19,778 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,408,786.94. This trade represents a 19.59 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

Sempra Stock Performance

SRE traded up $1.37 on Wednesday, hitting $72.93. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,726,239 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,593,272. Sempra has a 12 month low of $64.89 and a 12 month high of $95.77. The firm has a market cap of $47.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.06, 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. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $76.65 and its 200-day simple moving average is $82.99.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 analyst estimates of $4.73 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.13 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Sempra will post 4.76 EPS for the current year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 is a positive change from Sempra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. This represents a $2.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.54%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 20th. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 58.37%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Argus lowered shares of Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. UBS Group lowered Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $95.00 to $78.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $99.00 to $76.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Sempra from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Mizuho lowered their target price on shares of Sempra from $92.00 to $76.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $81.33.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new stake in Sempra during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Sempra in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Sempra during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Sempra during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, TCTC Holdings LLC increased its position in shares of Sempra by 265.2% in the fourth quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 336 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 244 shares during the last quarter. 89.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.