Soros Fund Management LLC Makes New Investment in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Soros Fund Management LLC bought 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 fund bought 70,000 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $6,140,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of SRE. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Sempra by 633.4% during the 4th quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 29,917 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,624,000 after buying an additional 25,838 shares during the last quarter. L & S Advisors Inc grew its position in Sempra by 52.6% during the fourth quarter. L & S Advisors Inc now owns 41,601 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,649,000 after acquiring an additional 14,338 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Sempra by 8.8% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,428,132 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $286,695,000 after acquiring an additional 278,183 shares during the last quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Sempra by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,071,091 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $93,956,000 after purchasing an additional 26,821 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Sempra by 11.7% in the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 9,479 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $831,000 after purchasing an additional 990 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.65% of the company's stock.

Sempra Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of Sempra stock traded up $0.82 during trading on Friday, reaching $75.52. The company had a trading volume of 2,830,803 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,739,094. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a current ratio of 0.52. Sempra has a fifty-two week low of $61.90 and a fifty-two week high of $95.77. The firm's fifty day moving average is $70.42 and its 200-day moving average is $80.94. The company has a market cap of $49.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.65.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.47 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $3.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.73 billion. Sempra had a return on equity of 8.06% and a net margin of 22.63%. Sempra's revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.13 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Sempra will post 4.76 EPS for the current year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 20th were issued a dividend of $0.645 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 20th. This is a positive change from Sempra's previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. This represents a $2.58 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.42%. Sempra's dividend payout ratio is 58.37%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SRE has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Mizuho dropped their target price on shares of Sempra from $92.00 to $76.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Guggenheim decreased their price target on Sempra from $95.00 to $87.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Argus downgraded shares of Sempra from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. UBS Group cut shares of Sempra from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $95.00 to $78.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on shares of Sempra from $77.00 to $75.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $80.54.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 2,755 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.93, for a total value of $225,717.15. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 13,905 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,139,236.65. This trade represents a 16.54 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Cynthia J. Warner acquired 700 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $70.65 per share, for a total transaction of $49,455.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 8,759 shares in the company, valued at $618,823.35. The trade was a 8.69 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders purchased 9,319 shares of company stock valued at $651,676. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by 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.