Bahl & Gaynor Inc. Raises Position in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Bahl & Gaynor Inc. grew its stake in Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 1.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,338,565 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 54,592 shares during the period. Sempra accounts for approximately 1.9% of Bahl & Gaynor Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 17th largest position. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. owned approximately 0.69% of Sempra worth $324,221,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. AE Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Sempra by 118.6% during the third quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 18,796 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,279,000 after purchasing an additional 10,198 shares during the period. RFG Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in Sempra during the third quarter worth approximately $218,000. Park Place Capital Corp lifted its position in Sempra by 100.0% during the third quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 1,010 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $69,000 after acquiring an additional 505 shares during the last quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Sempra by 106.9% during the third quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 658 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 340 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA lifted its position in Sempra by 98.2% during the third quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 2,598 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $177,000 after acquiring an additional 1,287 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.65% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on SRE shares. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Sempra from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH started coverage on shares of Sempra in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. They set a "buy" rating and a $81.50 price objective for the company. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Sempra from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Sempra from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Finally, Mizuho dropped their price target on shares of Sempra from $83.00 to $79.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Sempra currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $82.14.

Sempra Price Performance

SRE traded down $0.66 during trading on Friday, hitting $71.32. 3,161,506 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,951,422. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $70.55 and a 200 day moving average price of $71.70. The company has a market cap of $45.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.89, a PEG ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.71. Sempra has a twelve month low of $63.75 and a twelve month high of $79.30. 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 (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $3.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.01 billion. Sempra had a net margin of 18.26% and a return on equity of 9.45%. The company's revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.17 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Sempra will post 4.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 21st were paid a $0.62 dividend. This is a boost from Sempra's previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 20th. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.48%. Sempra's payout ratio is currently 51.77%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Diana L. Day sold 3,937 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.21, for a total value of $280,353.77. Following the sale, the insider now owns 18,145 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,292,105.45. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, insider Diana L. Day sold 3,937 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.21, for a total value of $280,353.77. Following the sale, the insider now owns 18,145 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,292,105.45. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Justin Christopher Bird sold 5,063 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.22, for a total transaction of $360,586.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now 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 a total of 122,432 shares of company stock valued at $8,668,035 over the last 90 days. 0.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.