Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Shares Purchased by Stifel Financial Corp

Stifel Financial Corp grew its position in Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 1.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 474,564 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 5,350 shares during the quarter. Stifel Financial Corp owned approximately 0.07% of Sempra worth $41,629,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Sempra by 633.4% in the fourth quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 29,917 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,624,000 after purchasing an additional 25,838 shares in the last quarter. L & S Advisors Inc raised its stake in shares of Sempra by 52.6% in the fourth quarter. L & S Advisors Inc now owns 41,601 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,649,000 after purchasing an additional 14,338 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of Sempra by 8.8% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,428,132 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $286,695,000 after acquiring an additional 278,183 shares in the last quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Sempra by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,071,091 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $93,956,000 after purchasing an additional 26,821 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. raised its stake in Sempra by 11.7% during the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 9,479 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $831,000 after acquiring an additional 990 shares in the last quarter. 89.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on SRE shares. UBS Group cut Sempra from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their price target for the company from $95.00 to $78.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Sempra from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. Mizuho cut their price objective on Sempra from $92.00 to $76.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on Sempra from $77.00 to $75.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Guggenheim cut their price objective on shares of Sempra from $95.00 to $87.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Sempra presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $80.54.

Sempra Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SRE traded up $0.23 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $74.75. 4,122,952 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,721,994. The business's fifty day moving average price is $71.33 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $81.13. 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 company has a market cap of $48.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.46, a PEG ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.65. Sempra has a 12-month low of $61.90 and a 12-month high of $95.77.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.47 by $0.03. Sempra had a return on equity of 8.06% and a net margin of 22.63%. The business had revenue of $3.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.73 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.13 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Sempra will post 4.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 20th were issued a dividend of $0.645 per share. 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 dividend yield of 3.45%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 20th. Sempra's dividend payout ratio is presently 58.37%.

Insider Transactions at Sempra

In related news, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 2,755 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.93, for a total transaction of $225,717.15. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 13,905 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,139,236.65. This represents a 16.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Justin Christopher Bird sold 4,817 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.23, for a total transaction of $343,114.91. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 19,778 shares in the company, valued at $1,408,786.94. The trade was a 19.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders purchased 9,319 shares of company stock worth $651,676 and sold 57,309 shares worth $4,694,019. Company insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

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.