3,638 Shares in Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Purchased by Retireful LLC

Retireful LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 3,638 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $319,000.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Eastern Bank bought a new position in shares of Sempra during the third quarter valued at $28,000. Hollencrest Capital Management lifted its stake in Sempra by 250.0% during the 3rd quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 378 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 270 shares during the period. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Sempra by 225.6% during the 4th quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 433 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of Sempra by 180.4% in the third quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 443 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 285 shares during the period. Finally, Mather Group LLC. raised its holdings in shares of Sempra by 35.5% during the third quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 740 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $62,000 after purchasing an additional 194 shares during the last quarter. 89.65% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sempra Stock Performance

Shares of SRE stock traded up $1.25 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $85.24. 3,627,955 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,820,869. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $88.62 and a 200 day moving average price of $83.73. The company has a market cap of $53.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.77, a P/E/G ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.78. 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 has a 12-month low of $66.40 and a 12-month high of $95.77.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 earnings per share 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 the consensus estimate of $3.54 billion. Sempra had a return on equity of 8.06% and a net margin of 22.63%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.08 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Sempra will post 4.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 5th were given a $0.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.91%. Sempra's payout ratio is 54.63%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Sempra from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $85.00 to $98.00 in a report on Friday, December 13th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Sempra from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Sempra in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. They set a "buy" rating and a $98.00 price objective for the company. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Sempra from $93.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on Sempra from $89.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $91.60.

Insider Transactions at Sempra

In other news, VP Trevor I. Mihalik sold 23,713 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.09, for a total value of $2,207,443.17. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 11,190 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,041,677.10. The trade was a 67.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

About Sempra

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.