Insider Buying: Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Director Purchases 2,600 Shares of Stock

Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) Director Pablo Ferrero purchased 2,600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The shares were bought at an average price of $70.96 per share, for a total transaction of $184,496.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 15,649 shares in the company, valued at $1,110,453.04. This trade represents a 19.92 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link.

Sempra Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:SRE traded down $0.44 on Friday, reaching $69.56. The company had a trading volume of 7,235,223 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,349,121. 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 $45.31 billion, a PE ratio of 15.32, a PEG ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.76. Sempra has a 52-week low of $64.89 and a 52-week high of $95.77. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $78.55 and its 200-day simple moving average is $83.66.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $1.50 EPS 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 analyst estimates of $4.73 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.13 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Sempra will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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Sempra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 20th will be issued a $0.645 dividend. This represents a $2.58 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.71%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 20th. This is an increase from Sempra's previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. Sempra's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 58.37%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sempra

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of SRE. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new position in shares of Sempra in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in Sempra during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Sempra during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. TCTC Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Sempra by 265.2% in the 4th quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 336 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 244 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Sempra in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.65% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays lowered shares of Sempra from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $95.00 to $72.00 in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Argus cut Sempra from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday. UBS Group lowered Sempra from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $95.00 to $78.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Sempra from $96.00 to $88.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "hold" rating and set a $77.00 target price (down from $96.00) on shares of Sempra in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $81.58.

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.