Lindbrook Capital LLC Acquires 1,133 Shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Lindbrook Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 77.7% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 2,592 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,133 shares during the period. Lindbrook Capital LLC’s holdings in Sempra were worth $194,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Insider Activity at Sempra

In other Sempra news, CEO Jeffrey W. Martin sold 50,703 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.92, for a total transaction of $3,595,856.76. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2 shares in the company, valued at approximately $141.84. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, VP Trevor I. Mihalik sold 57,571 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.59, for a total transaction of $4,063,936.89. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now 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 accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Jeffrey W. Martin sold 50,703 shares of the business’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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2 shares in the company, valued at $141.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 156,622 shares of company stock worth $11,089,713. 0.27% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Sempra Stock Up 1.5 %

SRE opened at $71.13 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $70.40 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $71.63. The company has a market capitalization of $44.96 billion, a PE ratio of 14.85, a PEG ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.71. Sempra has a 1-year low of $63.75 and a 1-year high of $79.38. The company has a current ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last announced its 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. Sempra had a return on equity of 9.45% and a net margin of 18.26%. The company had revenue of $3.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.01 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.17 EPS. Sempra’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Sempra will post 4.83 EPS for the current year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 21st were given a dividend of $0.62 per share. This is a boost from Sempra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 20th. Sempra’s payout ratio is presently 51.77%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on SRE. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $82.00 target price on shares of Sempra in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. BMO Capital Markets raised Sempra from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $76.00 to $84.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. Mizuho reduced their target price on Sempra from $83.00 to $79.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Barclays upped their price target on Sempra from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted 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. One equities research 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $82.14.

About Sempra

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.