U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC Takes Position in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 69,399 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $5,186,000.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Sempra in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Essex Investment Management Co. LLC increased its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 195 shares during the last quarter. Monetary Management Group Inc. raised its holdings in Sempra by 100.0% in the third quarter. Monetary Management Group Inc. now owns 400 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Wolverine Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Sempra by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. Wolverine Asset Management LLC now owns 400 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Spire Wealth Management grew its holdings in Sempra by 85.6% during the 3rd quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 412 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.65% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on SRE. StockNews.com cut shares of Sempra from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Mizuho lowered their price target on Sempra from $83.00 to $79.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Sempra from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Sempra from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $82.00 target price on shares of Sempra in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. One 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, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $82.14.

Sempra Stock Performance

NYSE SRE traded up $0.05 on Friday, hitting $72.92. The stock had a trading volume of 3,451,910 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,043,445. Sempra has a one year low of $63.75 and a one year high of $78.70. The stock has a market cap of $46.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.70. The company's 50-day moving average is $70.65 and its two-hundred day moving average is $71.78. The company has a quick ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 27th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.11 by $0.02. Sempra had a net margin of 18.26% and a return on equity of 9.45%. The business had revenue of $3.49 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.01 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.17 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Sempra will post 4.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 21st were paid a dividend of $0.62 per share. This is a positive change from Sempra's previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.40%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 20th. Sempra's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.77%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Jeffrey W. Martin sold 50,703 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.92, for a total value of $3,595,856.76. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2 shares in the company, valued at $141.84. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, CEO Jeffrey W. Martin sold 50,703 shares of Sempra stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.92, for a total value of $3,595,856.76. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $141.84. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Diana L. Day sold 3,937 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.21, for a total transaction of $280,353.77. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 18,145 shares in the company, valued at $1,292,105.45. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 122,432 shares of company stock worth $8,668,035. 0.24% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.