Merit Financial Group LLC Acquires 519 Shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Merit Financial Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 12.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,695 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 519 shares during the quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Sempra were worth $351,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in SRE. WFA of San Diego LLC increased its position in Sempra by 29.9% during the third quarter. WFA of San Diego LLC now owns 2,439 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $166,000 after acquiring an additional 561 shares during the last quarter. Meyer Handelman Co. raised its holdings in shares of Sempra by 100.0% in the third quarter. Meyer Handelman Co. now owns 68,696 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,673,000 after buying an additional 34,348 shares during the period. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board lifted its stake in shares of Sempra by 114.4% during the 3rd quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board now owns 32,782 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,230,000 after acquiring an additional 17,491 shares during the last quarter. Ausbil Investment Management Ltd boosted its holdings in Sempra by 13.5% during the 4th quarter. Ausbil Investment Management Ltd now owns 172,129 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $12,863,000 after acquiring an additional 20,469 shares during the period. Finally, CUSHING ASSET MANAGEMENT LP dba NXG INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT purchased a new stake in Sempra in the fourth quarter worth $9,715,000. 89.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Sempra Price Performance

NYSE:SRE opened at $75.23 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. Sempra has a 52 week low of $63.75 and a 52 week high of $78.70. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $70.74 and its 200-day moving average price is $71.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $47.56 billion, a PE ratio of 15.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.70.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $3.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.58 billion. Sempra had a return on equity of 9.45% and a net margin of 18.26%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 44.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.46 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Sempra will post 4.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 21st were given a dividend of $0.62 per share. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.30%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 20th. This is an increase from Sempra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio is 51.77%.

Insider Activity at Sempra

In other news, CEO Jeffrey W. Martin sold 50,703 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2 shares in the company, valued at $141.84. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, VP Trevor I. Mihalik sold 57,571 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.59, for a total value of $4,063,936.89. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 10,922 shares in the company, valued at $770,983.98. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Jeffrey W. Martin sold 50,703 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2 shares in the company, valued at approximately $141.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 122,432 shares of company stock valued at $8,668,035. 0.27% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SRE has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Sempra from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Sempra from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $76.00 to $84.00 in a report on Thursday, January 11th. Mizuho cut their price objective on shares of Sempra from $83.00 to $79.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Sempra from $79.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on Sempra from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Sempra has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $82.23.

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.