130,000 Shares in Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Acquired by CUSHING ASSET MANAGEMENT LP dba NXG INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT

CUSHING ASSET MANAGEMENT LP dba NXG INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT acquired a new position in Sempra (NYSE:SRE) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 130,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $9,715,000. Sempra accounts for about 0.9% of CUSHING ASSET MANAGEMENT LP dba NXG INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT’s holdings, making the stock its 24th largest position.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Planned Solutions Inc. bought a new position in Sempra in the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in Sempra by 1,236.5% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 200,217 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $14,962,000 after buying an additional 185,236 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Sempra by 40.9% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 85,496 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $6,389,000 after purchasing an additional 24,838 shares during the period. CVA Family Office LLC bought a new position in Sempra in the 4th quarter valued at $74,000. Finally, Raymond James & Associates boosted its holdings in Sempra by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 910,731 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $68,059,000 after purchasing an additional 10,256 shares during the period. 89.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Sempra news, insider Diana L. Day sold 3,937 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.21, for a total value of $280,353.77. Following the sale, the insider now owns 18,145 shares in the company, valued at $1,292,105.45. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, insider Diana L. Day sold 3,937 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.21, for a total transaction of $280,353.77. Following the sale, the insider now owns 18,145 shares in the company, valued at $1,292,105.45. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Trevor I. Mihalik sold 57,571 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.59, for a total transaction of $4,063,936.89. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 10,922 shares in the company, valued at approximately $770,983.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 156,622 shares of company stock worth $11,089,713. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Sempra Trading Up 2.9 %

Shares of NYSE:SRE traded up $2.01 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $71.25. 3,535,905 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,917,681. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.04 billion, a PE ratio of 14.87, a P/E/G ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.71. The business’s 50 day moving average is $70.81 and its two-hundred day moving average is $71.64. The company has a quick ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. Sempra has a one year low of $63.75 and a one year high of $79.51.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.02. Sempra had a net margin of 18.26% and a return on equity of 9.45%. The company had revenue of $3.49 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.01 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.17 earnings per share. Sempra’s revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Sempra will post 4.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 21st will be paid a $0.62 dividend. This is an increase from Sempra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 20th. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio is presently 51.77%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on SRE shares. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH started coverage on shares of Sempra in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $81.50 price target for the company. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Sempra from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Sempra from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $78.00 to $86.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 12th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $82.00 price objective on shares of Sempra in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, Mizuho dropped their price objective on shares of Sempra from $83.00 to $79.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Sempra currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $82.17.

Sempra Company 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.