Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Stock Holdings Increased by PDS Planning Inc

PDS Planning Inc raised its holdings in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 20.6% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 4,243 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 724 shares during the period. PDS Planning Inc’s holdings in Sempra were worth $372,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. TCTC Holdings LLC raised its stake in shares of Sempra by 265.2% in the 4th quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 336 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 244 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC raised its stake in shares of Sempra by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 7,276 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $638,000 after buying an additional 247 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Sempra by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 10,452 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $917,000 after buying an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp raised its stake in shares of Sempra by 16.3% in the 4th quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp now owns 99,902 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $8,763,000 after buying an additional 13,995 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Greenwich Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Sempra by 14.1% in the 4th quarter. Greenwich Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,839 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $249,000 after buying an additional 350 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Sempra Stock Performance

Shares of SRE stock opened at $70.74 on Wednesday. Sempra has a 1-year low of $64.89 and a 1-year high of $95.77. The company has a current ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The company has a market capitalization of $46.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.58, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.76. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $79.04 and its 200-day simple moving average is $83.84.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.47 by $0.03. Sempra had a return on equity of 8.06% and a net margin of 22.63%. The business had revenue of $3.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.73 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.13 earnings per share. Sempra’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Sempra will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.645 per share. This is an increase from Sempra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 20th. This represents a $2.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.65%. Sempra’s payout ratio is currently 58.37%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director James C. Yardley bought 5,019 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $69.74 per share, for a total transaction of $350,025.06. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 5,019 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $350,025.06. This trade represents a ? increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Jeffrey W. Martin sold 49,737 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.94, for a total value of $4,125,186.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2 shares in the company, valued at $165.88. This trade represents a 100.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have acquired 9,319 shares of company stock worth $651,676. 0.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on SRE shares. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Sempra from $96.00 to $88.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $99.00 to $76.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on Sempra from $92.00 to $78.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. UBS Group lowered Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $95.00 to $78.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Mizuho cut their target price on Sempra from $92.00 to $76.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $81.50.

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.