Leisure Capital Management Purchases Shares of 4,264 Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Leisure Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 4,264 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $319,000.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. PrairieView Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Sempra by 100.0% in the third quarter. PrairieView Partners LLC now owns 376 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 188 shares in the last quarter. Monetary Management Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Sempra by 100.0% in the third quarter. Monetary Management Group Inc. now owns 400 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Essex Investment Management Co. LLC boosted its holdings in Sempra by 100.0% in the third quarter. Essex Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 390 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 195 shares during the period. Wolverine Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Sempra by 100.0% in the third quarter. Wolverine Asset Management LLC now owns 400 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Finally, Spire Wealth Management boosted its holdings in Sempra by 85.6% in the third quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 412 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares during the period. 89.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Sempra

In related news, CEO Jeffrey W. Martin sold 50,703 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was 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 owns 2 shares in the company, valued at approximately $141.84. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Sempra news, VP Trevor I. Mihalik sold 57,571 shares of Sempra stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.59, for a total value of $4,063,936.89. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 10,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $770,983.98. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Jeffrey W. Martin sold 50,703 shares of Sempra stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2 shares in the company, valued at approximately $141.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 122,432 shares of company stock worth $8,668,035 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on SRE shares. StockNews.com lowered Sempra from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH started coverage on Sempra in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $81.50 target price for the company. Barclays lifted their target price on Sempra from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Sempra from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 21st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upgraded Sempra from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the company from $76.00 to $84.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. One investment 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 an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $82.14.

Sempra Stock Performance

Shares of SRE traded down $0.66 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $71.32. 3,161,506 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,951,422. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $70.55 and its 200 day moving average price is $71.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.54 and a quick ratio of 0.49. Sempra has a twelve month low of $63.75 and a twelve month high of $79.30. The company has a market capitalization of $45.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.89, a PEG ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.71.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last posted its 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. Sempra had a return on equity of 9.45% and a net margin of 18.26%. The business had revenue of $3.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.01 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.17 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Sempra will post 4.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

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