Allstate Corp Buys Shares of 18,951 Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Allstate Corp acquired a new stake in Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 18,951 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,662,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in SRE. Townsquare Capital LLC grew its holdings in Sempra by 45.2% during the third quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 31,337 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,621,000 after purchasing an additional 9,758 shares during the period. Glenmede Trust Co. NA raised its stake in Sempra by 0.7% in the third quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 41,393 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,462,000 after purchasing an additional 305 shares in the last quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC lifted its position in Sempra by 240.8% during the third quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 10,247 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $857,000 after purchasing an additional 7,240 shares during the period. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. acquired a new stake in Sempra during the third quarter worth about $201,000. Finally, Fred Alger Management LLC increased its holdings in Sempra by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC now owns 47,214 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,949,000 after buying an additional 2,189 shares during the period. 89.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Sempra Stock Performance

Shares of SRE stock traded down $1.25 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $71.59. 3,143,531 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,596,105. Sempra has a 52-week low of $64.89 and a 52-week 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 fifty day simple moving average of $76.45 and a 200 day simple moving average of $82.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $46.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.78, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.76.

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Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 firm's quarterly revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.13 EPS. Research analysts predict that Sempra will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 20th will be paid a $0.645 dividend. This is an increase from Sempra's previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. This represents a $2.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.60%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 20th. Sempra's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 58.37%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Jeffrey W. Martin sold 49,737 shares of Sempra stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at $165.88. The trade was a 100.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Cynthia J. Warner bought 700 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $70.65 per share, with a total value of $49,455.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 8,759 shares of the company's stock, valued at $618,823.35. This trade represents a 8.69 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have purchased 9,319 shares of company stock worth $651,676 and have sold 57,309 shares worth $4,694,019. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on SRE. Barclays downgraded shares of Sempra from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $95.00 to $72.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. UBS Group downgraded shares of Sempra from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $95.00 to $78.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Sempra from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut Sempra from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $99.00 to $76.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Mizuho reduced their price objective on shares of Sempra from $92.00 to $76.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Five investment 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 a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price 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.