Simmons Bank Raises Stock Position in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Simmons Bank grew its holdings in Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 27.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,100 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 876 shares during the period. Simmons Bank’s holdings in Sempra were worth $306,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. WFA of San Diego LLC raised its position in shares of Sempra by 29.9% during the third quarter. WFA of San Diego LLC now owns 2,439 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $166,000 after buying an additional 561 shares during the last quarter. Meyer Handelman Co. raised its position in shares of Sempra by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. Meyer Handelman Co. now owns 68,696 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,673,000 after buying an additional 34,348 shares in the last quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board raised its position in Sempra by 114.4% during the third quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board now owns 32,782 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,230,000 after purchasing an additional 17,491 shares during the period. Ausbil Investment Management Ltd raised its holdings in Sempra by 13.5% during the 4th quarter. Ausbil Investment Management Ltd now owns 172,129 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $12,863,000 after buying an additional 20,469 shares during the period. Finally, CUSHING ASSET MANAGEMENT LP dba NXG INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT bought a new stake in Sempra in the fourth quarter worth $9,715,000. Institutional investors own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Sempra

In other news, VP Trevor I. Mihalik sold 57,571 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.59, for a total transaction of $4,063,936.89. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 10,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $770,983.98. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Sempra news, VP Trevor I. Mihalik sold 57,571 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.59, for a total transaction of $4,063,936.89. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 10,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $770,983.98. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jeffrey W. Martin sold 50,703 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.92, for a total transaction of $3,595,856.76. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $141.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 122,432 shares of company stock worth $8,668,035. 0.27% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Sempra Stock Performance

Shares of SRE traded up $1.01 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $75.00. 2,176,997 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,950,358. The company has a quick ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $70.74 and a 200-day moving average price of $71.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $47.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.70. Sempra has a 12-month low of $63.75 and a 12-month high of $78.70.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $3.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.58 billion. Sempra had a return on equity of 9.45% and a net margin of 18.26%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 44.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.46 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Sempra will post 4.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 21st were paid a $0.62 dividend. This is a boost from Sempra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.31%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 20th. Sempra’s payout ratio is currently 51.77%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SRE has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Sempra from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. Mizuho dropped their price objective on Sempra from $83.00 to $79.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Sempra from $79.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $82.00 price target on shares of Sempra in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Sempra from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $82.23.

Sempra 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.