Ossiam Increases Holdings in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Ossiam boosted its stake in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 39.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 8,593 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,409 shares during the period. Ossiam’s holdings in Sempra were worth $754,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Lindbrook Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Sempra by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 2,410 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $211,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Sempra by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,585 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $227,000 after buying an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. increased its position in Sempra by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 2,639 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $232,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares during the period. Avantax Planning Partners Inc. raised its stake in Sempra by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Avantax Planning Partners Inc. now owns 7,423 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $651,000 after buying an additional 147 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI boosted its position in Sempra by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI now owns 6,677 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $586,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. 89.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Sempra Price Performance

SRE stock opened at $70.40 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.65. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $72.17 and its 200-day simple moving average is $81.35. Sempra has a 52-week low of $61.90 and a 52-week high of $95.77.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.47 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $3.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.73 billion. Sempra had a return on equity of 8.06% and a net margin of 22.63%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.13 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Sempra will post 4.76 EPS for the current year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 20th were given a dividend of $0.645 per share. This represents a $2.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.66%. This is a positive change from Sempra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 20th. Sempra’s payout ratio is presently 58.37%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on SRE. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on Sempra from $92.00 to $78.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Argus downgraded Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on shares of Sempra from $77.00 to $75.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Barclays lowered shares of Sempra from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $95.00 to $72.00 in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price target on Sempra from $93.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $80.31.

Insider Activity at Sempra

In other news, CEO Jeffrey W. Martin sold 49,737 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.94, for a total transaction of $4,125,186.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2 shares in the company, valued at approximately $165.88. This represents a 100.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 2,755 shares of Sempra stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.93, for a total transaction of $225,717.15. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 13,905 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,139,236.65. This trade represents a 16.54 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders acquired 9,319 shares of company stock valued at $651,676 and sold 57,309 shares valued at $4,694,019. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.