Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Shares Acquired by Everence Capital Management Inc.

Everence Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 49.0% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 25,816 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,490 shares during the period. Everence Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Sempra were worth $1,929,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SRE. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in Sempra by 842.9% in the 2nd quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 264 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 236 shares during the last quarter. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sempra during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. PrairieView Partners LLC grew its holdings in Sempra by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. PrairieView Partners LLC now owns 376 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 188 shares in the last quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors increased its position in Sempra by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors now owns 380 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 190 shares during the period. Finally, Essex Investment Management Co. LLC boosted its position in Sempra by 100.0% during the 3rd 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. 89.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Diana L. Day sold 3,937 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Sempra news, EVP Justin Christopher Bird sold 5,063 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.22, for a total value of $360,586.86. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 19,712 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,403,888.64. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, 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 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 approximately $1,292,105.45. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 156,622 shares of company stock worth $11,089,713. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on SRE shares. Mizuho lowered their price target on Sempra from $83.00 to $79.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Sempra from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. 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. StockNews.com lowered Sempra from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised Sempra from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $76.00 to $84.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. One investment 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.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $82.14.

Sempra Price Performance

NYSE SRE opened at $66.41 on Wednesday. Sempra has a 1 year low of $63.75 and a 1 year high of $79.51. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $70.46 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $71.53. The company has a market cap of $41.98 billion, a PE ratio of 13.86, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a current ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 firm earned $1.17 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Sempra will post 4.83 EPS for the current year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 21st were given a dividend of $0.62 per share. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.73%. This is a positive change from Sempra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 20th. Sempra’s payout ratio is presently 51.77%.

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.