Lee Danner & Bass Inc. Increases Holdings in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Lee Danner & Bass Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 169.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 25,570 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 16,095 shares during the period. Lee Danner & Bass Inc.’s holdings in Sempra were worth $2,243,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Lindbrook Capital LLC increased its holdings in Sempra by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 2,410 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $211,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the period. Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Sempra by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,585 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $227,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. Avantax Planning Partners Inc. increased its holdings in Sempra by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Avantax Planning Partners Inc. now owns 7,423 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $651,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares during the period. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI increased its holdings in Sempra by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI now owns 6,677 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $586,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares during the period. Finally, Kingsview Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Sempra by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 46,518 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,890,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on SRE shares. Barclays downgraded Sempra from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $95.00 to $72.00 in a report on Thursday, February 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $99.00 to $76.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $77.00 price objective (down from $96.00) on shares of Sempra in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Sempra from $96.00 to $88.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, UBS Group cut Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $95.00 to $78.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $81.58.

Sempra Stock Performance

Shares of SRE opened at $70.10 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $78.55 and its 200-day moving average price is $83.66. Sempra has a 52 week low of $64.89 and a 52 week high of $95.77. The stock has a market cap of $45.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.76.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.47 by $0.03. Sempra had a return on equity of 8.06% and a net margin of 22.63%. The firm had revenue of $3.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.73 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.13 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Sempra will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 20th will be given a $0.645 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 20th. This is a boost from Sempra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. This represents a $2.58 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.68%. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio is 58.37%.

Insider Activity at Sempra

In related news, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 2,755 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.93, for a total value of $225,717.15. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 13,905 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,139,236.65. This represents a 16.54 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jeffrey W. Martin sold 49,737 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.94, for a total value of $4,125,186.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2 shares in the company, valued at $165.88. This trade represents a 100.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have acquired 9,319 shares of company stock valued at $651,676. 0.24% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.