Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda Invests $488,000 in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda acquired a new position in Sempra (NYSE:SRE) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 6,528 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $488,000.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Crestline Management LP raised its holdings in Sempra by 14.0% in the 4th quarter. Crestline Management LP now owns 119,174 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $8,906,000 after acquiring an additional 14,674 shares during the last quarter. Ausbil Investment Management Ltd raised its stake in Sempra by 13.5% during 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 during the last quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Sempra by 932.2% during the 4th quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 43,848 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,277,000 after buying an additional 39,600 shares during the last quarter. CUSHING ASSET MANAGEMENT LP dba NXG INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT purchased a new stake in Sempra during the 4th quarter valued at $9,715,000. Finally, D.A. Davidson & CO. raised its stake in Sempra by 14.4% during the 4th quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 41,202 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,079,000 after buying an additional 5,197 shares during the last quarter. 89.65% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sempra Stock Up 0.3 %

SRE opened at $75.10 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $74.08 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $72.86. Sempra has a 52 week low of $63.75 and a 52 week high of $78.83. The company has a market capitalization of $47.32 billion, a PE ratio of 16.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.35 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $3.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.58 billion. Sempra had a net margin of 20.99% and a return on equity of 8.95%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 44.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.46 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Sempra will post 4.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 27th will be given a dividend of $0.62 per share. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.30%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 27th. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio is 54.93%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Richard J. Mark acquired 1,925 shares of Sempra stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 17th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $77.97 per share, with a total value of $150,092.25. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,420 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $422,597.40. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, CAO Peter R. Wall sold 6,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.07, for a total transaction of $457,927.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 14,751 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,107,357.57. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Richard J. Mark acquired 1,925 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 17th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $77.97 per share, for a total transaction of $150,092.25. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 5,420 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $422,597.40. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SRE has been the subject of a number of research reports. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH decreased their target price on shares of Sempra from $81.50 to $79.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 29th. Barclays upped their price objective on Sempra from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. Mizuho upped their price objective on Sempra from $79.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Sempra from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $82.00 price objective on shares of Sempra in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $82.00.

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.