Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt Increases Position in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt grew its holdings in Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 93.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 2,179 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,051 shares during the period. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt’s holdings in Sempra were worth $163,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Sempra by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 83,400 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $6,233,000 after buying an additional 1,228 shares during the last quarter. Opus Capital Group LLC raised its holdings in Sempra by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. Opus Capital Group LLC now owns 6,346 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $474,000 after purchasing an additional 337 shares in the last quarter. Maple Brown Abbott Ltd raised its holdings in Sempra by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Maple Brown Abbott Ltd now owns 1,143,660 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $85,466,000 after purchasing an additional 41,970 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its holdings in Sempra by 6.6% during the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 219,123 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $16,375,000 after purchasing an additional 13,503 shares in the last quarter. Finally, West Paces Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Sempra by 6.2% during the fourth quarter. West Paces Advisors Inc. now owns 9,824 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $734,000 after purchasing an additional 572 shares in the last quarter. 89.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Sempra from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $82.00 price target on shares of Sempra in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of 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 report on Thursday, January 11th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH initiated coverage on shares of Sempra in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $81.50 target price for the company. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Sempra from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $82.14.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Jeffrey W. Martin sold 34,190 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.83, for a total transaction of $2,421,677.70. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2 shares in the company, valued at $141.66. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Jeffrey W. Martin sold 34,190 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.83, for a total transaction of $2,421,677.70. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2 shares in the company, valued at $141.66. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Justin Christopher Bird sold 5,063 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.22, for a total transaction of $360,586.86. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 19,712 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,403,888.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 156,622 shares of company stock worth $11,089,713. 0.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Sempra Stock Up 0.8 %

SRE stock opened at $68.46 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $70.39 and its 200-day simple moving average is $71.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.28 billion, a PE ratio of 14.29, a P/E/G ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.71. Sempra has a 12 month low of $63.75 and a 12 month high of $79.51. 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 (NYSE:SRE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.11 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $3.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.01 billion. Sempra had a net margin of 18.26% and a return on equity of 9.45%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.17 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Sempra will post 4.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 3.62%. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.