Summit Financial LLC Takes Position in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Summit Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 3,940 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $348,000.

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Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of SRE. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in Sempra in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Sempra during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Sempra during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Sempra in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, TCTC Holdings LLC lifted its position in shares of Sempra by 265.2% in the 4th quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 336 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 244 shares during the period. 89.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Sempra Trading Down 2.8 %

SRE stock opened at $70.77 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $76.21 and a 200 day moving average price of $82.84. 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 has a fifty-two week low of $64.89 and a fifty-two week high of $95.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $46.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.76.

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Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last announced its 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 analyst estimates 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 period last year, the company posted $1.13 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Sempra will post 4.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

The business 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 dividend of $0.645 per share. This is a boost from Sempra's previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. This represents a $2.58 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 20th. Sempra's dividend payout ratio is 58.37%.

Insider Activity at Sempra

In other news, CEO Jeffrey W. Martin sold 49,737 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.94, for a total value of $4,125,186.78. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $165.88. This trade represents a 100.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 2,755 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.93, for a total transaction of $225,717.15. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 13,905 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,139,236.65. This trade represents a 16.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders purchased 9,319 shares of company stock valued at $651,676 and sold 57,309 shares valued at $4,694,019. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SRE has been the topic of a number of research reports. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "hold" rating and set a $77.00 price objective (down from $96.00) on shares of Sempra in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. UBS Group downgraded shares of Sempra from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $95.00 to $78.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Sempra from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Sempra from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Sempra from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $99.00 to $76.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $81.33.

View Our Latest Research Report on Sempra

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.

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