Ensign Peak Advisors Inc Has $9.28 Million Position in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Ensign Peak Advisors Inc lowered its stake in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 13.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 105,740 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 16,245 shares during the quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc's holdings in Sempra were worth $9,276,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SRE. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new position in Sempra in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Sempra in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Sempra in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Sempra during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, TCTC Holdings LLC grew its holdings in Sempra by 265.2% in the 4th quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 336 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 244 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.65% of the company's stock.

Sempra Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of SRE opened at $75.63 on Tuesday. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $70.98 and its 200-day simple moving average is $80.41. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $49.31 billion, a PE ratio of 16.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.63. Sempra has a 12-month low of $61.90 and a 12-month high of $95.77.

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

Sempra Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 20th were issued a dividend of $0.645 per share. 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 3.41%. This is a boost from Sempra's previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. Sempra's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 56.70%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on SRE shares. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Sempra from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. Morgan Stanley set a $89.00 price target on Sempra and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Sempra from $93.00 to $70.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on shares of Sempra from $77.00 to $75.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Argus cut shares of Sempra from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $80.77.

Insider Activity at Sempra

In other Sempra news, Director James C. Yardley acquired 5,019 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $69.74 per share, with a total value of $350,025.06. Following the purchase, the director now owns 5,019 shares of the company's stock, valued at $350,025.06. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Cynthia J. Warner purchased 700 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $70.65 per share, with a total value of $49,455.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 8,759 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $618,823.35. This represents a 8.69% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have bought 9,319 shares of company stock worth $651,676 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

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.

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