L & S Advisors Inc Grows Stock Holdings in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

L & S Advisors Inc boosted its stake in Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 52.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 41,601 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 14,338 shares during the period. L & S Advisors Inc’s holdings in Sempra were worth $3,649,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SRE. Lindbrook Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Sempra by 5.4% in 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 last quarter. Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Sempra by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,585 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $227,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Avantax Planning Partners Inc. increased its stake in Sempra by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Avantax Planning Partners Inc. now owns 7,423 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $651,000 after buying an additional 147 shares during the period. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI raised its position 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 worth $586,000 after buying an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc lifted its stake in shares of Sempra by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 3,210 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $295,000 after acquiring an additional 159 shares during the period. 89.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sempra Stock Down 0.6 %

SRE stock opened at $69.65 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $77.23 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $83.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a current ratio of 0.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.34, a PEG ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.76. Sempra has a one year low of $64.89 and a one year high of $95.77.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $3.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.73 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.13 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Sempra will post 4.76 EPS for the current year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.645 per share. 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 3.70%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 20th. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio is presently 58.37%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Pablo Ferrero bought 2,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $70.96 per share, with a total value of $184,496.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 15,649 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,110,453.04. This represents a 19.92 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 2,755 shares of the business’s 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 directly owns 13,905 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,139,236.65. This trade represents a 16.54 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have purchased 9,319 shares of company stock valued at $651,676. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on SRE shares. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on Sempra from $92.00 to $78.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and issued a $77.00 price target (down previously from $96.00) on shares of Sempra in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Barclays lowered shares of Sempra from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $95.00 to $72.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Guggenheim dropped their target price on shares of Sempra from $95.00 to $87.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Mizuho lowered their price target on shares of Sempra from $92.00 to $76.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $81.33.

Sempra Company 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.