Vestcor Inc Purchases 8,062 Shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Vestcor Inc increased its holdings in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 36.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 29,955 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 8,062 shares during the period. Vestcor Inc's holdings in Sempra were worth $2,628,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in shares of Sempra in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Sempra in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Human Investing LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Sempra in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. grew its stake in shares of Sempra by 225.6% in the fourth quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 433 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LRI Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of Sempra by 180.4% during the third quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 443 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 285 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.65% of the company's stock.

Sempra Stock Performance

Shares of Sempra stock traded up $0.31 on Wednesday, hitting $71.06. 5,902,035 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,325,114. Sempra has a 1 year low of $64.89 and a 1 year high of $95.77. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $79.04 and a 200-day simple moving average of $83.84. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $46.29 billion, a PE ratio of 15.65, a PEG ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.76.

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Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last released its 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. The company had revenue of $3.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.73 billion. Sempra had a return on equity of 8.06% and a net margin of 22.63%. Sempra's quarterly revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.13 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Sempra will post 4.76 EPS for the current year.

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 dividend of $0.645 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 20th. This is a boost from Sempra's previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. This represents a $2.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.63%. Sempra's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 58.37%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Argus downgraded shares of Sempra from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Barclays cut shares of Sempra from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and cut their price target for the company from $95.00 to $72.00 in a report on Thursday, February 27th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of Sempra from $92.00 to $78.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. UBS Group cut Sempra from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $95.00 to $78.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, 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. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $81.50.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Jeffrey W. Martin sold 49,737 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.94, for a total value of $4,125,186.78. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $165.88. The trade was a 100.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 2,755 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.93, for a total transaction of $225,717.15. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 13,905 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,139,236.65. This represents a 16.54 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have acquired 9,319 shares of company stock worth $651,676 over the last ninety days. 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.