Park Avenue Securities LLC Grows Position in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Park Avenue Securities LLC boosted its holdings in Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 6.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 19,241 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,225 shares during the quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC’s holdings in Sempra were worth $1,688,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SRE. Eastern Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Sempra in the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Hollencrest Capital Management boosted its holdings in shares of Sempra by 250.0% in the third quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 378 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 270 shares during the period. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Sempra by 225.6% in the fourth quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 433 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the period. LRI Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Sempra by 180.4% in the third quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 443 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 285 shares during the period. Finally, Mather Group LLC. boosted its holdings in shares of Sempra by 35.5% in the third quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 740 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $62,000 after acquiring an additional 194 shares during the period. 89.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Sempra Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE SRE opened at $85.24 on Friday. Sempra has a 12 month low of $66.40 and a 12 month high of $95.77. The company has a market cap of $53.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.77, a P/E/G ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.78. 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 business has a fifty day simple moving average of $88.50 and a 200-day simple moving average of $83.80.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.05 by ($0.16). Sempra had a return on equity of 8.06% and a net margin of 22.63%. The business had revenue of $2.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.54 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.08 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Sempra will post 4.77 EPS for the current year.

Sempra Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 5th were issued a $0.62 dividend. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 5th. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 54.63%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sempra

In other news, VP Trevor I. Mihalik sold 23,713 shares of Sempra stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.09, for a total transaction of $2,207,443.17. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 11,190 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,041,677.10. This trade represents a 67.94 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Barclays increased their price target on Sempra from $89.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Morgan Stanley raised Sempra from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $85.00 to $98.00 in a report on Friday, December 13th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Sempra from $93.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Sempra in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $98.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Sempra from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Sempra currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $91.60.

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.