Cibc World Markets Corp Boosts Stock Position in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Cibc World Markets Corp raised its holdings in Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 16.3% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 99,902 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 13,995 shares during the period. Cibc World Markets Corp’s holdings in Sempra were worth $8,763,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Greenwich Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Sempra by 14.1% during the 4th quarter. Greenwich Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,839 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $249,000 after acquiring an additional 350 shares in the last quarter. Ninepoint Partners LP raised its holdings in Sempra by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. Ninepoint Partners LP now owns 14,731 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,292,000 after purchasing an additional 902 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. lifted its position in shares of Sempra by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 28,774 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,524,000 after buying an additional 1,013 shares during the last quarter. one8zero8 LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sempra in the 4th quarter valued at $402,000. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Sempra by 13.5% in the 4th quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 674,670 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $59,182,000 after buying an additional 79,987 shares in the last quarter. 89.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Sempra

In other Sempra news, Director Michael N. Mears acquired 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $67.70 per share, for a total transaction of $67,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 5,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $338,500. The trade was a 25.00 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Pablo Ferrero bought 2,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The shares were bought at an average price of $70.96 per share, for a total transaction of $184,496.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 15,649 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,110,453.04. This represents a 19.92 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last three months, insiders acquired 9,319 shares of company stock valued at $651,676. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Sempra Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SRE opened at $70.74 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $79.04 and a 200 day moving average price of $83.84. Sempra has a 1-year low of $64.89 and a 1-year 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. The company has a market cap of $46.09 billion, a PE ratio of 15.58, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.76.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.47 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $3.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.73 billion. Sempra had a net margin of 22.63% and a return on equity of 8.06%. The business’s revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.13 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Sempra will post 4.76 EPS for the current year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 20th will be issued a $0.645 dividend. This represents a $2.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 20th. This is a positive change from Sempra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. Sempra’s payout ratio is currently 58.37%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Mizuho reduced their price target on shares of Sempra from $92.00 to $76.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Sempra from $96.00 to $88.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Guggenheim decreased their target price on Sempra from $95.00 to $87.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $77.00 price target (down previously from $96.00) on shares of Sempra in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Sempra from $100.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $81.50.

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.