Hennessy Advisors Inc. Increases Position in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Hennessy Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 22.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 343,680 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 64,100 shares during the period. Hennessy Advisors Inc. owned about 0.05% of Sempra worth $24,525,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Sempra during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Sempra during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. TCTC Holdings LLC boosted its position in Sempra by 265.2% during the fourth quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 336 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 244 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Sempra during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Mattson Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in Sempra during the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. 89.65% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

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

Sempra Price Performance

SRE stock opened at $73.94 on Friday. Sempra has a 1 year low of $61.90 and a 1 year high of $95.77. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $74.52 and a 200 day moving average of $78.46. The company has a market cap of $48.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.29, a PEG ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.52 and a quick ratio of 0.47.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The utilities provider reported $1.44 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.32 by $0.12. Sempra had a net margin of 22.63% and a return on equity of 8.06%. The business had revenue of $3.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.90 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.34 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Sempra will post 4.76 EPS for the current year.

Sempra Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 26th will be issued a dividend of $0.645 per share. This represents a $2.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.49%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 26th. Sempra’s payout ratio is 56.70%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Argus lowered shares of Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Morgan Stanley set a $87.00 price objective on shares of Sempra and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Sempra from $93.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Mizuho lowered their price objective on shares of Sempra from $92.00 to $76.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, UBS Group downgraded shares of Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $95.00 to $78.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $80.75.

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.