Lionshead Wealth Management LLC Takes Position in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Lionshead Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 3,946 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $346,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Sempra during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,535,000,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Sempra by 11.9% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 38,407,154 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,369,076,000 after purchasing an additional 4,082,261 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Sempra by 70.6% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,666,240 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $584,763,000 after buying an additional 2,758,037 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its holdings in shares of Sempra by 71.3% during the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 4,651,923 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $408,069,000 after buying an additional 1,936,865 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC raised its position in Sempra by 8.0% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 20,489,918 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,797,376,000 after buying an additional 1,511,313 shares during the period. 89.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Cynthia J. Warner bought 700 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $70.65 per share, with a total value of $49,455.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 8,759 shares of the company's stock, valued at $618,823.35. The trade was a 8.69% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Diana L. Day sold 8,015 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.26, for a total transaction of $595,193.90. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 16,969 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,260,117.94. This trade represents a 32.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have acquired 9,319 shares of company stock valued at $651,676. 0.27% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on SRE shares. UBS Group lowered Sempra from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $95.00 to $78.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Argus cut shares of Sempra from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Barclays downgraded shares of Sempra from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $95.00 to $72.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Sempra from $93.00 to $70.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered 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. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $80.77.

Sempra Stock Up 2.1%

Shares of SRE traded up $1.60 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $76.46. 2,895,745 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,734,552. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a current ratio of 0.52. The company has a market cap of $49.85 billion, a PE ratio of 16.84, a PEG ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.63. The firm's 50 day moving average is $71.20 and its 200-day moving average is $80.33. Sempra has a 52 week low of $61.90 and a 52 week high of $95.77.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The utilities provider reported $1.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.32 by $0.12. Sempra had a return on equity of 8.06% and a net margin of 22.63%. The firm had revenue of $3.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.90 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.34 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Sempra will post 4.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 26th will be given a $0.645 dividend. This represents a $2.58 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.37%. Sempra's dividend payout ratio is currently 56.70%.

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.