Alan B Lancz & Associates Inc. Sells 200 Shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Alan B Lancz & Associates Inc. decreased its position in Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 2.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 8,100 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 200 shares during the quarter. Alan B Lancz & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Sempra were worth $605,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of SRE. WFA of San Diego LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Sempra by 29.9% in the 3rd quarter. WFA of San Diego LLC now owns 2,439 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $166,000 after acquiring an additional 561 shares during the last quarter. Meyer Handelman Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Sempra by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. Meyer Handelman Co. now owns 68,696 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,673,000 after purchasing an additional 34,348 shares during the period. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board lifted its position in Sempra by 114.4% in the third quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board now owns 32,782 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,230,000 after buying an additional 17,491 shares during the last quarter. Ausbil Investment Management Ltd increased its position in Sempra by 13.5% during the fourth quarter. Ausbil Investment Management Ltd now owns 172,129 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $12,863,000 after acquiring an additional 20,469 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CUSHING ASSET MANAGEMENT LP dba NXG INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT bought a new position in shares of Sempra during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $9,715,000. 89.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sempra Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:SRE traded up $0.05 on Friday, hitting $72.92. 3,451,910 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,043,445. The company has a current ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $70.65 and its 200 day moving average price is $71.78. Sempra has a 1-year low of $63.75 and a 1-year high of $78.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.70.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $3.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.01 billion. Sempra had a return on equity of 9.45% and a net margin of 18.26%. The firm’s revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.17 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Sempra will post 4.82 EPS for the current year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 21st were given a dividend of $0.62 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 20th. This is a positive change from Sempra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.40%. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 51.77%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on SRE shares. StockNews.com downgraded Sempra from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $82.00 target price on shares of Sempra in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Barclays boosted their price target on Sempra from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. BMO Capital Markets raised Sempra from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $76.00 to $84.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Sempra from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Sempra currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $82.14.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sempra

In other news, insider Diana L. Day sold 3,937 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Sempra news, VP Trevor I. Mihalik sold 57,571 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 10,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $770,983.98. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Diana L. Day sold 3,937 shares of Sempra stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.21, for a total value of $280,353.77. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 18,145 shares in the company, valued at $1,292,105.45. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 122,432 shares of company stock worth $8,668,035. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

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.