Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Shares Acquired by DLK Investment Management LLC

DLK Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 19.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 21,527 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 3,497 shares during the period. DLK Investment Management LLC's holdings in Sempra were worth $1,888,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of SRE. Private Advisor Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Sempra by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 8,742 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $731,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares during the period. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI increased its stake in Sempra by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI now owns 6,677 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $586,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares during the period. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Sempra by 0.3% in the third quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 46,518 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,890,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares during the period. CX Institutional raised its holdings in shares of Sempra by 5.5% in the third quarter. CX Institutional now owns 3,083 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $258,000 after buying an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton boosted its stake in shares of Sempra by 4.2% during the third quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 4,031 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $337,000 after buying an additional 163 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.65% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on SRE. Morgan Stanley raised Sempra from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $85.00 to $98.00 in a research note on Friday, December 13th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Sempra from $93.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Sempra from $89.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Sempra in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. They set a "buy" rating and a $98.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Sempra from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $91.60.

Insider Activity at Sempra

In related news, VP Trevor I. Mihalik sold 23,713 shares of Sempra stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.09, for a total transaction of $2,207,443.17. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 11,190 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,041,677.10. This trade represents a 67.94 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.27% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Sempra Price Performance

SRE traded up $1.25 on Monday, hitting $85.24. 3,627,955 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,950,581. Sempra has a fifty-two week low of $66.40 and a fifty-two week high of $95.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a current ratio of 0.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $53.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.78. The business's fifty day moving average is $88.50 and its 200 day moving average is $83.92.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.08 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Sempra will post 4.77 EPS for the current year.

Sempra Dividend Announcement

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

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.