9,692 Shares in Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Bought by Quest Partners LLC

Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 9,692 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $724,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Meyer Handelman Co. lifted its position in Sempra by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. Meyer Handelman Co. now owns 68,696 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $4,673,000 after buying an additional 34,348 shares in the last quarter. Ausbil Investment Management Ltd increased its holdings in Sempra by 13.5% during the fourth quarter. Ausbil Investment Management Ltd now owns 172,129 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $12,863,000 after buying an additional 20,469 shares during the last quarter. CUSHING ASSET MANAGEMENT LP dba NXG INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT bought a new stake in Sempra during the fourth quarter worth $9,715,000. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Sempra by 932.2% in the fourth quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 43,848 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,277,000 after acquiring an additional 39,600 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Sempra by 17.3% in the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 127,151 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $9,502,000 after acquiring an additional 18,760 shares during the period. 89.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Barclays boosted their price target on Sempra from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Sempra from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, March 21st. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Sempra from $79.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Sempra from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Sempra from $79.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Sempra presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $82.86.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related 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 completion of 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Sempra news, insider Diana L. Day sold 3,937 shares of Sempra 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 18,145 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,292,105.45. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 10,922 shares of the company's stock, valued at $770,983.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 122,432 shares of company stock valued at $8,668,035 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

Sempra Trading Down 1.4 %

Shares of SRE stock traded down $1.08 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $77.32. 3,590,045 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,041,535. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $72.04 and its 200 day simple moving average is $72.35. The stock has a market cap of $48.93 billion, a PE ratio of 17.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.70. Sempra has a 12 month low of $63.75 and a 12 month high of $78.83. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.35 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $3.64 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.58 billion. Sempra had a net margin of 20.99% and a return on equity of 8.95%. Sempra's revenue was down 44.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.46 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Sempra will post 4.82 EPS for the current year.

Sempra Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 27th will be paid a dividend of $0.62 per share. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 27th. Sempra's dividend payout ratio is presently 54.93%.

Sempra 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.