Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Position Boosted by EP Wealth Advisors LLC

EP Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 3.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 519,034 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 17,199 shares during the period. EP Wealth Advisors LLC owned about 0.08% of Sempra worth $38,787,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Sempra during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Wolverine Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Sempra by 100.0% during the third quarter. Wolverine Asset Management LLC now owns 400 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Sempra by 195.1% during the fourth quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 419 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 277 shares during the last quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Sempra during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Planned Solutions Inc. acquired a new stake in Sempra during the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Institutional investors own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Sempra news, Director Richard J. Mark bought 1,925 shares of Sempra stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 17th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $77.97 per share, for a total transaction of $150,092.25. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 5,420 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $422,597.40. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Sempra Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SRE traded down $0.17 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $75.97. 2,666,810 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,763,922. Sempra has a fifty-two week low of $63.75 and a fifty-two week high of $78.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.62 and a quick ratio of 0.57. The firm has a market cap of $47.87 billion, a PE ratio of 16.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.74. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $73.93 and a 200-day simple moving average of $72.83.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $3.64 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.58 billion. Sempra had a return on equity of 8.95% and a net margin of 20.99%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 44.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.46 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Sempra will post 4.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 27th will be issued a dividend of $0.62 per share. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.26%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 27th. Sempra’s payout ratio is 54.93%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Sempra from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Sempra from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $82.00 price objective on shares of Sempra in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Sempra from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. Finally, Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Sempra from $79.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Sempra currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $82.00.

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.