Werlinich Asset Management LLC Raises Position in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Werlinich Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 9.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 56,300 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,000 shares during the quarter. Sempra accounts for 2.6% of Werlinich Asset Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest position. Werlinich Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Sempra were worth $4,018,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in SRE. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in shares of Sempra by 4.0% in the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 13,911 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $993,000 after buying an additional 530 shares during the last quarter. Impact Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Sempra by 7.6% in the first quarter. Impact Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,844 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $203,000 after acquiring an additional 201 shares during the period. Procyon Advisors LLC boosted its position in Sempra by 23.6% in the first quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 74,151 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,203,000 after purchasing an additional 14,169 shares during the last quarter. A. D. Beadell Investment Counsel Inc. grew its stake in shares of Sempra by 289.2% during the 1st quarter. A. D. Beadell Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 26,370 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,881,000 after purchasing an additional 19,595 shares during the period. Finally, Stablepoint Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Sempra by 9.4% during the 1st quarter. Stablepoint Partners LLC now owns 18,521 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,322,000 after purchasing an additional 1,585 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Pablo Ferrero acquired 2,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $70.96 per share, with a total value of $184,496.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 15,649 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,110,453.04. The trade was a 19.92% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Diana L. Day sold 8,015 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.26, for a total transaction of $595,193.90. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 16,969 shares in the company, valued at $1,260,117.94. This represents a 32.08% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Sempra Stock Performance

NYSE SRE opened at $76.82 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. Sempra has a twelve month low of $61.90 and a twelve month high of $95.77. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $73.73 and a 200-day moving average price of $78.90. The firm has a market cap of $50.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.64.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The utilities provider reported $1.44 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.32 by $0.12. Sempra had a return on equity of 8.06% and a net margin of 22.63%. The business had revenue of $3.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.90 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.34 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Sempra will post 4.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 26th will be issued a dividend of $0.645 per share. This represents a $2.58 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.36%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 26th. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.70%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on SRE shares. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Sempra from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Guggenheim cut their price objective on shares of Sempra from $95.00 to $87.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Morgan Stanley set a $87.00 target price on Sempra and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Citigroup lowered their target price on Sempra from $93.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Argus cut Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $80.75.

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.