Vident Advisory LLC Boosts Holdings in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Vident Advisory LLC boosted its position in Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 26.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 15,938 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 3,284 shares during the period. Vident Advisory LLC's holdings in Sempra were worth $1,398,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Sempra by 633.4% during the fourth quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 29,917 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,624,000 after acquiring an additional 25,838 shares in the last quarter. L & S Advisors Inc increased its stake in Sempra by 52.6% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Sempra by 8.8% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC raised its holdings in Sempra by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,071,091 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $93,956,000 after buying an additional 26,821 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. lifted its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 990 shares in the last quarter. 89.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sempra

In other Sempra news, Director James C. Yardley bought 5,019 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 acquisition, the director now directly owns 5,019 shares of the company's stock, valued at $350,025.06. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Michael N. Mears purchased 1,000 shares of Sempra stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was bought at an average price of $67.70 per share, with a total value of $67,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 5,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $338,500. This represents a 25.00% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders bought 9,319 shares of company stock valued at $651,676. Company insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on SRE shares. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Sempra from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $99.00 to $76.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Sempra from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Mizuho dropped their target price on Sempra from $92.00 to $76.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Morgan Stanley set a $87.00 target price on Sempra and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered 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. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $80.62.

Sempra Stock Performance

SRE stock traded up $1.47 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $79.16. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,300,350 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,026,542. The stock has a market cap of $51.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.44, a PEG ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.63. 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 stock's 50-day moving average price is $72.43 and its 200 day moving average price is $79.85. Sempra has a 1 year low of $61.90 and a 1 year 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, beating the consensus estimate of $1.32 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $3.80 billion during 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%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.34 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Sempra will post 4.76 EPS for the current year.

Sempra Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 26th will be paid a $0.645 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 26th. This represents a $2.58 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.26%. Sempra's payout ratio is 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.