abrdn plc Has $20.16 Million Position in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

abrdn plc boosted its stake in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 69.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 269,831 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 110,562 shares during the quarter. abrdn plc’s holdings in Sempra were worth $20,164,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Greenleaf Trust lifted its holdings in Sempra by 7.9% during the 4th quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 9,062 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $677,000 after buying an additional 665 shares during the period. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sempra in the 4th quarter valued at about $236,000. Xponance Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Sempra by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 83,197 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $6,217,000 after purchasing an additional 4,174 shares during the period. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt lifted its stake in shares of Sempra by 93.2% in the 4th quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 2,179 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $163,000 after purchasing an additional 1,051 shares during the period. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Sempra by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 83,400 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $6,233,000 after purchasing an additional 1,228 shares during the period. 89.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Diana L. Day sold 3,937 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.21, for a total value of $280,353.77. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly 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 is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Diana L. Day sold 3,937 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.21, for a total value of $280,353.77. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly 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 is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Justin Christopher Bird sold 5,063 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.22, for a total value of $360,586.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 19,712 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,403,888.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 156,622 shares of company stock valued at $11,089,713. Corporate insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Sempra Stock Performance

Shares of SRE opened at $71.53 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a current ratio of 0.54. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $70.45 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $71.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.93, a P/E/G ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.71. Sempra has a 52 week low of $63.75 and a 52 week high of $79.38.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 9.45% and a net margin of 18.26%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.17 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Sempra will post 4.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 21st were issued a dividend of $0.62 per share. This is a positive change from Sempra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 20th. Sempra’s payout ratio is currently 51.77%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on SRE shares. Barclays boosted their price objective on Sempra from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH started coverage on Sempra in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $81.50 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Sempra from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. StockNews.com downgraded Sempra from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised Sempra from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $76.00 to $84.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $82.14.

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.