Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Shares Sold by EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC

EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lessened its position in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 9.3% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 3,389 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 347 shares during the quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Sempra were worth $297,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new position in shares of Sempra during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Sempra during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Human Investing LLC purchased a new position in Sempra during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. increased its stake in Sempra by 225.6% in the fourth quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 433 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. Finally, LRI Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of Sempra by 180.4% in the third quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 443 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 285 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Sempra Trading Up 3.6 %

Shares of SRE opened at $70.30 on Friday. Sempra has a twelve month low of $64.89 and a twelve month high of $95.77. The company has a current ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.48, a PEG ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.76. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $79.57 and its two-hundred day moving average is $83.98.

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

Sempra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 20th will be given a $0.645 dividend. 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. This represents a $2.58 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.67%. Sempra’s payout ratio is currently 58.37%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SRE has been the topic of a number of research reports. Mizuho lowered their price target on Sempra from $92.00 to $76.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Sempra from $100.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Sempra from $96.00 to $88.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $99.00 to $76.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of Sempra from $92.00 to $78.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Four research 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 stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $81.50.

Insider Activity at Sempra

In related news, CEO Jeffrey W. Martin sold 49,737 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $165.88. This represents a 100.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Cynthia J. Warner purchased 700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $70.65 per share, with a total value of $49,455.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 8,759 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $618,823.35. This represents a 8.69 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have acquired 6,719 shares of company stock valued at $467,180. Insiders own 0.27% 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.