Caprock Group LLC Raises Position in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Caprock Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 1.5% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 42,865 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 629 shares during the period. Caprock Group LLC’s holdings in Sempra were worth $3,787,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in SRE. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Sempra during the fourth quarter worth about $570,000. SOL Capital Management CO lifted its position in Sempra by 5.9% during the fourth quarter. SOL Capital Management CO now owns 3,702 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $325,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares during the last quarter. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new position in Sempra in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. OLD National Bancorp IN increased its holdings in shares of Sempra by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN now owns 10,795 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $947,000 after buying an additional 335 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stordahl Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Sempra in the 4th quarter worth $257,000. 89.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Trevor I. Mihalik sold 23,713 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.09, for a total value of $2,207,443.17. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 11,190 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,041,677.10. This represents a 67.94 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Jeffrey W. Martin sold 49,737 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Sempra from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Morgan Stanley upgraded Sempra from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $85.00 to $98.00 in a research report on Friday, December 13th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Sempra from $93.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Sempra in a report on Thursday, October 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $98.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Sempra from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $91.20.

Sempra Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE SRE opened at $82.87 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $52.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.25, a PEG ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a quick ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $86.83 and its 200 day moving average is $84.26. Sempra has a 52 week low of $66.40 and a 52 week high of $95.77.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by ($0.16). The firm had revenue of $2.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.54 billion. Sempra had a net margin of 22.63% and a return on equity of 8.06%. Sempra’s revenue was down 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.08 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Sempra will post 4.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Sempra Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 5th were paid a dividend of $0.62 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.99%. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.63%.

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.