Choreo LLC Boosts Stock Position in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Choreo LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 91.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 12,261 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,869 shares during the period. Choreo LLC’s holdings in Sempra were worth $918,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Mechanics Bank Trust Department boosted its stake in shares of Sempra by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Mechanics Bank Trust Department now owns 10,182 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $761,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Sandy Spring Bank boosted its position in Sempra by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Sandy Spring Bank now owns 18,610 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,391,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Clarius Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Sempra by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Clarius Group LLC now owns 4,255 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $318,000 after acquiring an additional 152 shares during the period. Machina Capital S.A.S. raised its position in shares of Sempra by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Machina Capital S.A.S. now owns 5,535 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $377,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AdvisorNet Financial Inc raised its position in shares of Sempra by 34.5% in the 4th quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 600 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SRE has been the topic of several recent research reports. Mizuho reduced their price target on Sempra from $83.00 to $79.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Sempra from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $76.00 to $84.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $82.00 price target on shares of Sempra in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Sempra from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Sempra from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Sempra has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $82.14.

Sempra Trading Up 0.4 %

Sempra stock opened at $71.93 on Thursday. Sempra has a one year low of $63.75 and a one year high of $78.70. The business’s fifty day moving average is $70.60 and its 200 day moving average is $71.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.47 billion, a PE ratio of 15.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.54 and a quick ratio of 0.49.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $3.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.01 billion. Sempra had a net margin of 18.26% and a return on equity of 9.45%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.17 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Sempra will post 4.82 EPS for the current year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 21st were paid a $0.62 dividend. This is an increase from Sempra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 20th. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.77%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Sempra news, insider Diana L. Day sold 3,937 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.21, for a total value of $280,353.77. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 18,145 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,292,105.45. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Diana L. Day sold 3,937 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.21, for a total transaction of $280,353.77. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 18,145 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,292,105.45. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jeffrey W. Martin sold 50,703 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.92, for a total value of $3,595,856.76. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $141.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 122,432 shares of company stock valued at $8,668,035 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

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.