Cibc World Markets Corp Increases Stake in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Cibc World Markets Corp raised its holdings in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 16.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 99,902 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 13,995 shares during the quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp’s holdings in Sempra were worth $8,763,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Lindbrook Capital LLC grew its stake in Sempra by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 2,410 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $211,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Sempra by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,585 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $227,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Avantax Planning Partners Inc. grew its position in shares of Sempra by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Avantax Planning Partners Inc. now owns 7,423 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $651,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares in the last quarter. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI increased its holdings in shares of Sempra by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI now owns 6,677 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $586,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kingsview Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Sempra by 0.3% during the third quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 46,518 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,890,000 after buying an additional 158 shares in the last quarter. 89.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Sempra news, CEO Jeffrey W. Martin sold 49,737 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.94, for a total value of $4,125,186.78. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $165.88. This trade represents a 100.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Pablo Ferrero acquired 2,600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $70.96 per share, with a total value of $184,496.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 15,649 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,110,453.04. This represents a 19.92 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders acquired a total of 9,319 shares of company stock worth $651,676 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Sempra Price Performance

SRE stock opened at $70.74 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $79.04 and its 200 day moving average price is $83.84. Sempra has a 12-month low of $64.89 and a 12-month high of $95.77. The company has a current ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The company has a market capitalization of $46.09 billion, a PE ratio of 15.58, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.76.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $1.50 earnings per share (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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.73 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.13 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Sempra will post 4.76 EPS for the current year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 20th will be given a $0.645 dividend. This represents a $2.58 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 20th. This is a boost from Sempra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 58.37%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on SRE shares. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on Sempra from $92.00 to $78.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $99.00 to $76.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $77.00 target price (down from $96.00) on shares of Sempra in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Guggenheim dropped their price target on shares of Sempra from $95.00 to $87.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Barclays cut Sempra from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $95.00 to $72.00 in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $81.50.

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.