Sierra Summit Advisors LLC Purchases 1,631 Shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Sierra Summit Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 31.8% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 6,754 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,631 shares during the quarter. Sierra Summit Advisors LLC’s holdings in Sempra were worth $592,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in SRE. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new position in shares of Sempra in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in Sempra in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Sempra in the 4th quarter worth $29,000. TCTC Holdings LLC lifted its stake in Sempra by 265.2% in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Sempra during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. 89.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Sempra Stock Performance

Sempra stock opened at $65.89 on Monday. Sempra has a 1-year low of $64.89 and a 1-year high of $95.77. The company’s 50-day moving average is $75.87 and its 200 day moving average is $82.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.65. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.47 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $3.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.73 billion. Sempra had a return on equity of 8.06% and a net margin of 22.63%. Sempra’s quarterly revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.13 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Sempra will post 4.76 EPS for the current year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 20th will be issued a $0.645 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 20th. 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 dividend yield of 3.92%. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio is presently 58.37%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Michael N. Mears purchased 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were acquired 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. This represents a 25.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Justin Christopher Bird sold 4,817 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.23, for a total value of $343,114.91. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 19,778 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,408,786.94. This represents a 19.59 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have purchased 9,319 shares of company stock valued at $651,676 and have sold 57,309 shares valued at $4,694,019. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on SRE shares. Mizuho reduced their target price on Sempra from $92.00 to $76.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. UBS Group cut Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $95.00 to $78.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Barclays lowered shares of Sempra from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and cut their target price for the company from $95.00 to $72.00 in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Argus downgraded shares of Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated 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. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Sempra presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $81.33.

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.