Pablo Ferrero Purchases 2,600 Shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Stock

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Director Pablo Ferrero acquired 2,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $70.96 per share, with a total value of $184,496.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 15,649 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,110,453.04. This represents a 19.92 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link.

Sempra Price Performance

Shares of SRE opened at $70.74 on Wednesday. Sempra has a 12-month low of $64.89 and a 12-month high of $95.77. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $79.04 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $83.84. The company has a quick ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The stock has a market cap of $46.09 billion, a PE ratio of 15.58, a PEG ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.76.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.47 by $0.03. Sempra had a return on equity of 8.06% and a net margin of 22.63%. The firm had revenue of $3.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.73 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.13 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Sempra will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

The business 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.65%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 20th. This is a positive change from Sempra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. Sempra’s payout ratio is 58.37%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sempra

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new stake in shares of Sempra in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Sempra during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Sempra during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sempra during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, TCTC Holdings LLC boosted its position in shares of Sempra by 265.2% during the 4th quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 336 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 244 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SRE has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and set a $77.00 price target (down previously from $96.00) on shares of Sempra in a report on Monday, March 3rd. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target 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 cut Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $99.00 to $76.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. UBS Group cut Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $95.00 to $78.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Argus cut Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus 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.