VSM Wealth Advisory LLC Takes $44,000 Position in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

VSM Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 498 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $44,000.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new position in shares of Sempra in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Sempra in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. TCTC Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in Sempra by 265.2% during the fourth quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 336 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 244 shares during the last quarter. Human Investing LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sempra during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, ST Germain D J Co. Inc. increased its stake in shares of Sempra by 225.6% in the 4th quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 433 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. 89.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Sempra Price Performance

NYSE SRE opened at $71.06 on Thursday. Sempra has a 12-month low of $64.89 and a 12-month high of $95.77. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $78.80 and its 200-day moving average is $83.75. The company has a market capitalization of $46.29 billion, a PE ratio of 15.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.76. 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 (NYSE:SRE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.47 by $0.03. Sempra had a net margin of 22.63% and a return on equity of 8.06%. The company had revenue of $3.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.73 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.13 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Sempra will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.645 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 20th. This represents a $2.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.63%. This is a boost from Sempra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio is currently 58.37%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SRE has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Argus cut shares of Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. Guggenheim dropped their price objective on Sempra from $95.00 to $87.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on Sempra from $92.00 to $78.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Mizuho cut their price objective on Sempra from $92.00 to $76.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, UBS Group cut Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $95.00 to $78.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Sempra has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $81.50.

Insider Activity

In other Sempra news, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 2,755 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.93, for a total transaction of $225,717.15. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 13,905 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,139,236.65. The trade was a 16.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jeffrey W. Martin sold 49,737 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.94, for a total value of $4,125,186.78. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2 shares in the company, valued at $165.88. This represents a 100.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders purchased 9,319 shares of company stock valued at $651,676. 0.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.