Inspire Trust Co. N.A. Makes New Investment in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Inspire Trust Co. N.A. purchased a new position in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 37,200 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $3,263,000.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new position in Sempra during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Sempra during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sempra during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. TCTC Holdings LLC raised its position in shares of Sempra by 265.2% during the fourth 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. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Sempra in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. 89.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. 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. Barclays cut 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 reduced their target price on Sempra from $93.00 to $70.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Argus lowered shares of Sempra from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Sempra from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $99.00 to $76.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $80.77.

Insider Transactions at Sempra

In other news, Director Pablo Ferrero purchased 2,600 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $70.96 per share, with a total value of $184,496.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 15,649 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,110,453.04. The trade was a 19.92% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Michael N. Mears purchased 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $67.70 per share, for a total transaction of $67,700.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 5,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $338,500. The trade was a 25.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have purchased 9,319 shares of company stock worth $651,676. Corporate insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

Sempra Price Performance

NYSE:SRE opened at $76.91 on Thursday. 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 cap of $50.14 billion, a PE ratio of 16.94, 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. The company's 50-day moving average price is $72.05 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $80.13.

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

Sempra Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 26th will be paid a $0.645 dividend. This represents a $2.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.35%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 26th. Sempra's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.

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