Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC Takes $1.65 Million Position in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 18,772 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,647,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new stake in shares of Sempra during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Sempra during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Sempra in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. TCTC Holdings LLC lifted its stake in shares of Sempra by 265.2% during the 4th quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 336 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 244 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Sempra during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. 89.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Sempra Price Performance

SRE stock traded down $0.37 during trading on Friday, hitting $75.40. The stock had a trading volume of 3,066,378 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,741,813. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.52 and a quick ratio of 0.47. The company's 50-day moving average price is $70.81 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $80.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $49.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.61, a PEG ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.63. Sempra has a twelve month low of $61.90 and a twelve month high of $95.77.

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

Sempra Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 20th were paid a $0.645 dividend. This is a boost from Sempra's previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 20th. This represents a $2.58 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.42%. Sempra's dividend payout ratio is 58.37%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Cynthia J. Warner acquired 700 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $70.65 per share, with a total value of $49,455.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 8,759 shares of the company's stock, valued at $618,823.35. This represents a 8.69 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Michael N. Mears acquired 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $67.70 per share, with a total value of $67,700.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 5,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $338,500. This trade represents a 25.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders acquired 9,319 shares of company stock worth $651,676. Company insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SRE has been the subject of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Sempra from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Guggenheim dropped their price target on Sempra from $95.00 to $87.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. UBS Group downgraded Sempra from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their target price for the company from $95.00 to $78.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Morgan Stanley set a $89.00 price target on shares of Sempra and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on Sempra from $92.00 to $78.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $80.54.

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.