Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Takes Position in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new stake in Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 38,100 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,847,000.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. PrairieView Partners LLC grew its position in Sempra by 100.0% in the third quarter. PrairieView Partners LLC now owns 376 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 188 shares during the period. Optimum Investment Advisors grew its position in Sempra by 100.0% in the third quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors now owns 380 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 190 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in Sempra by 119.9% in the third quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 398 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 217 shares during the period. Monetary Management Group Inc. grew its position in Sempra by 100.0% in the third quarter. Monetary Management Group Inc. now owns 400 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. Finally, Essex Investment Management Co. LLC grew its position in Sempra by 100.0% in the third quarter. Essex Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 390 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 195 shares during the period. 89.65% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $82.00 price objective on shares of Sempra in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH assumed coverage on Sempra in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. They set a "buy" rating and a $81.50 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Sempra from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. StockNews.com cut Sempra from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on Sempra from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $82.14.

Insider Activity at Sempra

In related news, EVP Justin Christopher Bird sold 5,063 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.22, for a total value of $360,586.86. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 19,712 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,403,888.64. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Sempra news, VP Trevor I. Mihalik sold 57,571 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.59, for a total transaction of $4,063,936.89. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 10,922 shares of the company's stock, valued at $770,983.98. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Justin Christopher Bird sold 5,063 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.22, for a total value of $360,586.86. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 19,712 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,403,888.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 156,622 shares of company stock valued at $11,089,713 over the last quarter. 0.27% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Sempra Stock Down 2.5 %

Shares of NYSE SRE traded down $1.70 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $66.41. The company had a trading volume of 3,419,088 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,965,494. The company has a market capitalization of $41.98 billion, a PE ratio of 13.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.54 and a quick ratio of 0.49. Sempra has a 1-year low of $63.75 and a 1-year high of $79.51. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $70.46 and its 200 day simple moving average is $71.53.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 27th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.11 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $3.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.01 billion. Sempra had a return on equity of 9.45% and a net margin of 18.26%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.17 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Sempra will post 4.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 21st were issued a $0.62 dividend. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.73%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 20th. This is a positive change from Sempra's previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. Sempra's dividend payout ratio is 51.77%.

About Sempra

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.