Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI Makes New Investment in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI purchased a new stake in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 112,609 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $9,878,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in Sempra by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 2,407,666 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $201,352,000 after purchasing an additional 45,884 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of Sempra by 8.8% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,428,132 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $286,695,000 after buying an additional 278,183 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in Sempra by 177.2% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 49,346 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,329,000 after buying an additional 31,542 shares during the period. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC grew its position in Sempra by 9.5% during the fourth quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 3,357 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $294,000 after buying an additional 292 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Sempra in the 4th quarter worth about $359,000. 89.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Sempra Trading Down 0.4%

NYSE SRE opened at $78.14 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $50.94 billion, a PE ratio of 17.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.63. Sempra has a 1-year low of $61.90 and a 1-year high of $95.77. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $71.92 and a 200-day moving average of $80.15. The company has a current ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The utilities provider reported $1.44 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.32 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $3.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.90 billion. Sempra had a return on equity of 8.06% and a net margin of 22.63%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.34 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Sempra will post 4.76 EPS for the current year.

Sempra Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 26th will be given a dividend of $0.645 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 26th. This represents a $2.58 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.30%. Sempra’s payout ratio is currently 56.70%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Cynthia J. Warner bought 700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $70.65 per share, for a total transaction of $49,455.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 8,759 shares in the company, valued at approximately $618,823.35. This trade represents a 8.69% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Diana L. Day sold 8,015 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.26, for a total value of $595,193.90. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 16,969 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,260,117.94. This represents a 32.08% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have bought a total of 9,319 shares of company stock valued at $651,676 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on SRE shares. Mizuho decreased their price objective on shares of Sempra from $92.00 to $76.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Sempra from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Sempra from $93.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $99.00 to $76.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Barclays downgraded Sempra from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $95.00 to $72.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Sempra currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $80.77.

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.