Diana L. Day Sells 8,015 Shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Stock

Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) insider Diana L. Day sold 8,015 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.26, for a total value of $595,193.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 16,969 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,260,117.94. The trade was a 32.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Sempra Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:SRE opened at $74.89 on Thursday. 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 business's 50 day moving average price is $71.20 and its 200-day moving average price is $80.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.82 billion, a PE ratio of 16.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.63. Sempra has a 1 year low of $61.90 and a 1 year high of $95.77.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.90 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.34 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Sempra will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 20th were given a dividend of $0.645 per share. This is an increase 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.45%. Sempra's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.70%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SRE has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Argus cut Sempra from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Barclays cut Sempra from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and reduced their price target for the company from $95.00 to $72.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Sempra from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on Sempra from $77.00 to $75.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Sempra from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $80.77.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sempra

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SRE. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in Sempra by 633.4% in the fourth quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 29,917 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,624,000 after purchasing an additional 25,838 shares during the period. L & S Advisors Inc raised its position in Sempra by 52.6% in the fourth quarter. L & S Advisors Inc now owns 41,601 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,649,000 after purchasing an additional 14,338 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in Sempra by 8.8% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,428,132 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $286,695,000 after purchasing an additional 278,183 shares during the period. Empower Advisory Group LLC raised its position in Sempra by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,071,091 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $93,956,000 after purchasing an additional 26,821 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. raised its position in Sempra by 11.7% in the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 9,479 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $831,000 after purchasing an additional 990 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.65% of the company's stock.

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.

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