GF Fund Management CO. LTD. Makes New Investment in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

GF Fund Management CO. LTD. purchased a new position in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 69,647 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $6,109,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SRE. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new position in shares of Sempra during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Sempra in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Sempra during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. TCTC Holdings LLC lifted its position in 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 Sempra during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. 89.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on SRE shares. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Sempra from $93.00 to $70.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Sempra from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $99.00 to $76.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Morgan Stanley set a $87.00 price objective on Sempra and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. UBS Group lowered shares of Sempra from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $95.00 to $78.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Barclays cut shares of Sempra from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and cut their target price for the company from $95.00 to $72.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $80.75.

Sempra Stock Performance

SRE stock traded up $0.18 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $78.13. The stock had a trading volume of 1,490,416 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,737,744. Sempra has a 52 week low of $61.90 and a 52 week high of $95.77. The company has a current ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $72.92 and a 200 day simple moving average of $79.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $50.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.63.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The utilities provider reported $1.44 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.90 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.34 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Sempra will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Sempra Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 26th will be issued a dividend of $0.645 per share. This represents a $2.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 26th. Sempra's payout ratio is 56.70%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Diana L. Day sold 8,015 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.26, for a total value of $595,193.90. Following the sale, the insider now owns 16,969 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,260,117.94. This represents a 32.08% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Cynthia J. Warner purchased 700 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were purchased at an average cost 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 in the company, valued at $618,823.35. The trade was a 8.69% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have purchased 9,319 shares of company stock worth $651,676. Company insiders own 0.27% 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.