Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Director Pablo Ferrero Purchases 2,600 Shares of Stock

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Director Pablo Ferrero acquired 2,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The stock was bought at an average price of $70.96 per share, with a total value of $184,496.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 15,649 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,110,453.04. This represents a 19.92 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Sempra Stock Up 1.2 %

SRE stock opened at $71.03 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $79.31 and its 200-day simple moving average is $83.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.27 billion, a PE ratio of 15.65, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.76. Sempra has a 12 month low of $64.89 and a 12 month high of $95.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.52 and a quick ratio of 0.47.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.47 by $0.03. Sempra had a net margin of 22.63% and a return on equity of 8.06%. The business had revenue of $3.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.73 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.13 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Sempra will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 20th will be given a dividend of $0.645 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 20th. This represents a $2.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.63%. This is a positive change from Sempra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 58.37%.

Institutional Trading of Sempra

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of SRE. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in Sempra during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Sempra in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sempra in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. TCTC Holdings LLC raised its stake in shares of Sempra by 265.2% in the 4th quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 336 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 244 shares during the period. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Sempra in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on SRE shares. Mizuho reduced their target price on shares of Sempra from $92.00 to $76.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Sempra from $100.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $99.00 to $76.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. UBS Group cut shares of Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $95.00 to $78.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and set a $77.00 price target (down from $96.00) on shares of Sempra in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Sempra currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $81.50.

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.