Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Shares Purchased by GAMMA Investing LLC

GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 12.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,112 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 573 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC’s holdings in Sempra were worth $367,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Sempra by 101.8% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 62,117,948 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,225,884,000 after acquiring an additional 31,334,782 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in Sempra by 12.1% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 27,123,899 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,026,969,000 after purchasing an additional 2,917,668 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Sempra during the 4th quarter worth about $958,253,000. Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its position in Sempra by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 12,344,960 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $922,539,000 after purchasing an additional 190,688 shares during the period. Finally, Morgan Stanley grew its position in Sempra by 101.2% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 10,334,173 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $703,034,000 after purchasing an additional 5,197,328 shares during the period. 89.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Sempra Price Performance

Shares of SRE opened at $75.10 on Thursday. Sempra has a 1-year low of $63.75 and a 1-year high of $78.83. The stock has a market cap of $47.32 billion, a PE ratio of 16.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.62 and a quick ratio of 0.57. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $74.18 and a 200 day moving average price of $72.87.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by ($0.01). Sempra had a net margin of 20.99% and a return on equity of 8.95%. The company had revenue of $3.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.58 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.46 earnings per share. Sempra’s revenue was down 44.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Sempra will post 4.8 EPS for the current 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 issued a $0.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 27th. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.30%. Sempra’s payout ratio is 54.93%.

Insider Activity

In other Sempra news, Director Richard J. Mark bought 1,925 shares of Sempra stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 17th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $77.97 per share, with a total value of $150,092.25. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 5,420 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $422,597.40. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, Director Richard J. Mark purchased 1,925 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 17th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $77.97 per share, for a total transaction of $150,092.25. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 5,420 shares in the company, valued at approximately $422,597.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Peter R. Wall sold 6,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.07, for a total transaction of $457,927.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 14,751 shares in the company, valued at $1,107,357.57. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SRE has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH dropped their target price on Sempra from $81.50 to $79.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 29th. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Sempra from $79.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Sempra from $79.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Sempra from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $82.00 price target on shares of Sempra in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Sempra has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $82.00.

Sempra 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.