Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Position Raised by Reaves W H & Co. Inc.

Reaves W H & Co. Inc. boosted its holdings in Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 9.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 1,132,356 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 100,924 shares during the quarter. Sempra comprises 3.1% of Reaves W H & Co. Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest position. Reaves W H & Co. Inc. owned approximately 0.18% of Sempra worth $84,621,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Monetary Management Group Inc. raised 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. Essex Investment Management Co. LLC raised 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. Wolverine Asset Management LLC raised its position in Sempra by 100.0% in the third quarter. Wolverine Asset Management LLC now owns 400 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. Spire Wealth Management raised its position in Sempra by 85.6% in the third quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 412 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 190 shares during the period. Finally, Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Sempra in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.65% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Sempra from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. Mizuho lowered their target price on shares of Sempra from $83.00 to $79.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Sempra from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Sempra from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $76.00 to $84.00 in a report on Thursday, January 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Sempra from $79.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $82.23.

Sempra Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE SRE traded up $1.01 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $77.18. 7,373,710 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,042,466. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $70.95 and a 200-day moving average price of $71.92. Sempra has a 12 month low of $63.75 and a 12 month high of $78.01. The company has a market cap of $48.79 billion, a PE ratio of 16.11, a PEG ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.70. 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 earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.35 by ($0.01). Sempra had a net margin of 18.26% and a return on equity of 9.45%. The firm had revenue of $3.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.58 billion. Sempra's revenue for the quarter was down 44.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.46 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Sempra will post 4.82 EPS for the current year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 3.21%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 20th. This is a positive change from Sempra's previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. Sempra's payout ratio is presently 51.77%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Trevor I. Mihalik sold 57,571 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.59, for a total transaction of $4,063,936.89. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 10,922 shares in the company, valued at approximately $770,983.98. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Sempra news, VP Trevor I. Mihalik sold 57,571 shares of Sempra stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.59, for a total transaction of $4,063,936.89. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 10,922 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $770,983.98. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Diana L. Day sold 3,937 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at $1,292,105.45. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 122,432 shares of company stock worth $8,668,035. Company insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

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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