Everpar Advisors LLC Takes Position in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Everpar Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Sempra (NYSE:SRE) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 5,033 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $376,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Sempra by 101.8% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 62,117,948 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,225,884,000 after buying an additional 31,334,782 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Sempra by 101.4% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 24,206,231 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,646,750,000 after purchasing an additional 12,184,568 shares during the last quarter. Newport Trust Company LLC boosted its holdings in Sempra by 104.0% during the third quarter. Newport Trust Company LLC now owns 14,416,527 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $980,756,000 after purchasing an additional 7,348,746 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Sempra by 147.0% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 14,360,225 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $976,926,000 after purchasing an additional 8,546,205 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its holdings in Sempra by 109.0% during the third quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 12,154,272 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $826,855,000 after purchasing an additional 6,338,545 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Jeffrey W. Martin sold 50,703 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.92, for a total value of $3,595,856.76. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $141.84. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Jeffrey W. Martin sold 50,703 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.92, for a total transaction of $3,595,856.76. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $141.84. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Diana L. Day sold 3,937 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.21, for a total transaction of $280,353.77. Following the transaction, 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. Insiders have sold 122,432 shares of company stock valued at $8,668,035 over the last ninety days. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on SRE shares. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Sempra from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. StockNews.com cut shares of Sempra from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Mizuho reduced their target price 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. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Sempra from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $82.00 price target on shares of Sempra in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $82.23.

Sempra Stock Performance

Shares of SRE traded up $1.24 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $75.23. The company had a trading volume of 4,095,654 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,973,595. The firm has a market cap of $47.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.71, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.70. The business has a fifty day moving average of $70.74 and a 200-day moving average of $71.86. Sempra has a 12 month low of $63.75 and a 12 month high of $78.70. 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 (NYSE:SRE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.35 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $3.64 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.58 billion. Sempra had a net margin of 18.26% and a return on equity of 9.45%. Sempra’s revenue for the quarter was down 44.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.46 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Sempra will post 4.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 21st were given a $0.62 dividend. 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.30%. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio is presently 51.77%.

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.