Summit Investment Advisors Inc. Reduces Holdings in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Summit Investment Advisors Inc. lowered its stake in Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 3.7% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 6,306 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 240 shares during the period. Summit Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Sempra were worth $553,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of SRE. Lindbrook Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Sempra by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 2,410 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $211,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Sempra by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 2,639 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $232,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares during the last quarter. Avantax Planning Partners Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Sempra by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Avantax Planning Partners Inc. now owns 7,423 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $651,000 after buying an additional 147 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI raised its position in shares of Sempra by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI now owns 6,677 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $586,000 after buying an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Jeffrey W. Martin sold 49,737 shares of Sempra stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2 shares in the company, valued at approximately $165.88. The trade was a 100.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Cynthia J. Warner acquired 700 shares of Sempra stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were bought at an average price of $70.65 per share, for a total transaction of $49,455.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly 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 acquired 9,319 shares of company stock worth $651,676 and sold 57,309 shares worth $4,694,019. Insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on the stock. UBS Group cut shares of Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $95.00 to $78.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on Sempra from $77.00 to $75.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Sempra from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. Argus cut Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Sempra from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $80.31.

Sempra Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of SRE opened at $71.14 on Friday. Sempra has a 12 month low of $61.90 and a 12 month high of $95.77. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $72.42 and its two-hundred day moving average is $81.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.52 and a quick ratio of 0.47. The stock has a market cap of $46.38 billion, a PE ratio of 15.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.65.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $1.50 earnings per share 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.73 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.13 EPS. Sempra’s quarterly revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Sempra will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 20th were given a $0.645 dividend. This is a boost from Sempra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. This represents a $2.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.63%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 20th. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio is presently 58.37%.

Sempra 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.