Loomis Sayles & Co. L P Sells 203 Shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Loomis Sayles & Co. L P lessened its stake in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 19.3% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 851 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 203 shares during the quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P’s holdings in Sempra were worth $75,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of SRE. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new position in Sempra in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Sempra in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. TCTC Holdings LLC lifted its position in shares of Sempra by 265.2% during the 4th quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 336 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 244 shares during the last quarter. Human Investing LLC bought a new stake in Sempra during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, ST Germain D J Co. Inc. grew its holdings in Sempra by 225.6% in the 4th quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 433 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Sempra Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of SRE opened at $69.65 on Monday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $77.23 and its 200-day simple moving average is $83.15. Sempra has a one year low of $64.89 and a one year high of $95.77. The company 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. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $3.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.73 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.13 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Sempra will post 4.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 20th will be given a $0.645 dividend. This represents a $2.58 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 20th. This is a boost from Sempra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 58.37%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on SRE shares. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Sempra from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Argus downgraded shares of Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Guggenheim decreased their price target on shares of Sempra from $95.00 to $87.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $77.00 price objective (down previously from $96.00) on shares of Sempra in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, UBS Group downgraded Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the stock 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 given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $81.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Sempra news, CEO Jeffrey W. Martin sold 49,737 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.94, for a total value of $4,125,186.78. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2 shares in the company, valued at approximately $165.88. This trade represents a 100.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Michael N. Mears bought 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $67.70 per share, with a total value of $67,700.00. Following 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders purchased 9,319 shares of company stock valued at $651,676. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

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.