Trek Financial LLC Makes New $2.80 Million Investment in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Trek Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 31,858 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,795,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of SRE. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new position in shares of Sempra during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in Sempra in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Sempra in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. TCTC Holdings LLC raised its stake in shares of Sempra by 265.2% during the 4th quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 336 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 244 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Sempra during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. 89.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Guggenheim dropped their price objective on Sempra from $95.00 to $87.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Argus lowered shares of Sempra from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Barclays cut shares of Sempra from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $95.00 to $72.00 in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Citigroup cut their target price on Sempra from $93.00 to $70.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Sempra from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their price target for the company from $99.00 to $76.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $80.46.

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Sempra Price Performance

Shares of SRE stock traded up $1.46 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $68.36. The company had a trading volume of 4,169,530 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,679,333. 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 $44.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.06, 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. The firm's fifty day moving average is $73.60 and its 200 day moving average is $81.88.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last issued its 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. The company had revenue of $3.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.73 billion. Sempra had a net margin of 22.63% and a return on equity of 8.06%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.13 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Sempra will post 4.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.645 per share. This represents a $2.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.77%. This is a boost from Sempra's previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 20th. Sempra's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 58.37%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sempra

In other Sempra news, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 2,755 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.93, for a total value of $225,717.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 13,905 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,139,236.65. The trade was a 16.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jeffrey W. Martin sold 49,737 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.94, for a total transaction of $4,125,186.78. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2 shares in the company, valued at $165.88. This trade represents a 100.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders acquired 9,319 shares of company stock worth $651,676 and sold 57,309 shares worth $4,694,019. Corporate insiders own 0.24% 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.