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

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

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SRE. WFA of San Diego LLC grew its holdings in shares of Sempra by 29.9% in the 3rd quarter. WFA of San Diego LLC now owns 2,439 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $166,000 after acquiring an additional 561 shares during the period. Meyer Handelman Co. increased its stake in shares of Sempra by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. Meyer Handelman Co. now owns 68,696 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,673,000 after purchasing an additional 34,348 shares in the last quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board lifted its stake in Sempra by 114.4% in the 3rd quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board now owns 32,782 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,230,000 after buying an additional 17,491 shares in the last quarter. Ausbil Investment Management Ltd lifted its stake in Sempra by 13.5% in the 4th quarter. Ausbil Investment Management Ltd now owns 172,129 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $12,863,000 after buying an additional 20,469 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CUSHING ASSET MANAGEMENT LP dba NXG INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT acquired a new stake in Sempra during the 4th quarter valued at $9,715,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Sempra

In other Sempra news, insider Diana L. Day sold 3,937 shares of Sempra stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were 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 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 the SEC website. In other news, insider Diana L. Day sold 3,937 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.21, for a total transaction of $280,353.77. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 18,145 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,292,105.45. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Jeffrey W. Martin sold 50,703 shares of the company’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 owns 2 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $141.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 122,432 shares of company stock valued at $8,668,035 over the last three months. 0.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Sempra Trading Up 0.4 %

SRE opened at $71.93 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $70.60 and its 200-day moving average is $71.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.70. Sempra has a 52-week low of $63.75 and a 52-week high of $78.70. 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 (NYSE:SRE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.11 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $3.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.01 billion. Sempra had a return on equity of 9.45% and a net margin of 18.26%. The company’s revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.17 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Sempra will post 4.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on SRE. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Sempra from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. Barclays upped their target price on Sempra from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. StockNews.com cut Sempra from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Mizuho lowered their target price on shares of Sempra from $83.00 to $79.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $82.00 target price on shares of Sempra in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. One equities research 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, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $82.14.

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.