Michael N. Mears Purchases 1,000 Shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Stock

Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) Director Michael N. Mears purchased 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $67.70 per share, for a total transaction of $67,700.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 5,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $338,500. This represents a 25.00 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Sempra Price Performance

SRE stock traded down $0.77 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $68.70. The stock had a trading volume of 6,674,799 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,665,300. Sempra has a twelve month low of $64.89 and a twelve month high of $95.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.13, a PEG ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.76. The company's 50-day moving average price is $81.06 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $84.36. 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 (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.47 by $0.03. Sempra had a net margin of 22.63% and a return on equity of 8.06%. The business had revenue of $3.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.73 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.13 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Sempra will post 4.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 20th. This represents a $2.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.76%. This is an increase from Sempra's previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. Sempra's payout ratio is currently 58.37%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sempra

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Sempra during the 4th quarter worth $1,535,000,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of Sempra by 11.9% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 38,407,154 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,369,076,000 after buying an additional 4,082,261 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Sempra by 70.6% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,666,240 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $584,763,000 after buying an additional 2,758,037 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its holdings in Sempra by 71.3% during the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 4,651,923 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $408,069,000 after acquiring an additional 1,936,865 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC raised its position in Sempra by 9.1% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 18,978,605 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,587,181,000 after acquiring an additional 1,582,653 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.65% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Guggenheim reduced their target price on Sempra from $95.00 to $87.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of Sempra from $92.00 to $78.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. UBS Group downgraded shares of Sempra from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $95.00 to $78.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Mizuho lowered their target price on Sempra from $92.00 to $76.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Sempra from $96.00 to $88.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Sempra presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $81.50.

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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.

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