Chesapeake Capital Corp IL Acquires Shares of 8,513 Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Chesapeake Capital Corp IL acquired a new stake in Sempra (NYSE:SRE) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 8,513 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $647,000. Sempra comprises approximately 0.8% of Chesapeake Capital Corp IL’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest position.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Spire Wealth Management increased its position in Sempra by 113.8% during the fourth quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 881 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $64,000 after acquiring an additional 469 shares during the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC grew its holdings in Sempra by 43.7% during the 4th quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 9,631 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $720,000 after purchasing an additional 2,929 shares during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in Sempra in the 4th quarter worth about $473,000. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. purchased a new stake in Sempra in the 4th quarter worth about $201,000. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Sempra by 6.1% in the fourth quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 8,036 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $601,000 after purchasing an additional 464 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Sempra Trading Up 1.0 %

NYSE SRE opened at $82.94 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $52.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.75. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $79.16 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $75.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 0.46. Sempra has a one year low of $63.75 and a one year high of $84.28.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.92 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $3.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.46 billion. Sempra had a net margin of 22.31% and a return on equity of 8.58%. The firm’s revenue was down 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.94 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Sempra will post 4.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 26th will be given a dividend of $0.62 per share. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.99%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 26th. Sempra’s payout ratio is 54.93%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on SRE shares. Mizuho increased their price target on Sempra from $79.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH reduced their target price on Sempra from $81.50 to $79.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 29th. Barclays lifted their target price on Sempra from $81.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on shares of Sempra from $86.00 to $84.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Sempra from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $83.36.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sempra

In other news, CAO Peter R. Wall sold 6,100 shares of Sempra stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.07, for a total value of $457,927.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 14,751 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,107,357.57. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

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.