Insider Buying: Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Director Purchases $49,455.00 in Stock

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Director Cynthia J. Warner acquired 700 shares of Sempra stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $70.65 per share, with a total value of $49,455.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 8,759 shares in the company, valued at $618,823.35. This represents a 8.69 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Sempra Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SRE opened at $69.23 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $81.42 and a 200 day moving average of $84.44. The company has a current ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.76. Sempra has a 12-month low of $64.89 and a 12-month high of $95.77.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.47 by $0.03. Sempra had a net margin of 22.63% and a return on equity of 8.06%. The company had revenue of $3.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.73 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.13 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Sempra will post 4.76 earnings per share 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 issued a dividend of $0.645 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 20th. This represents a $2.58 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.73%. This is an increase from Sempra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. Sempra’s payout ratio is currently 58.37%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sempra

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new position in Sempra during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in Sempra during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Sempra in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Sempra in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Finally, TCTC Holdings LLC lifted its holdings 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 buying an additional 244 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SRE has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of Sempra from $92.00 to $78.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Barclays lowered shares of Sempra from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $95.00 to $72.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $77.00 price target (down from $96.00) on shares of Sempra in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Guggenheim reduced their price target on shares of Sempra from $95.00 to $87.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Mizuho reduced their price target on shares of Sempra from $92.00 to $76.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $81.50.

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.