PGGM Investments Makes New $156,000 Investment in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

PGGM Investments purchased a new position in Sempra (NYSE:SRE) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 1,779 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $156,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Lindbrook Capital LLC grew its position in Sempra by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 2,410 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $211,000 after buying an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Sempra by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,585 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $227,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Avantax Planning Partners Inc. grew its position in Sempra by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Avantax Planning Partners Inc. now owns 7,423 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $651,000 after buying an additional 147 shares during the last quarter. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI grew its position in Sempra by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI now owns 6,677 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $586,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kingsview Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Sempra by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 46,518 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,890,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director James C. Yardley acquired 5,019 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were bought at an average price of $69.74 per share, for a total transaction of $350,025.06. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 5,019 shares in the company, valued at $350,025.06. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Michael N. Mears acquired 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were bought at an average price of $67.70 per share, for a total transaction of $67,700.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 5,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $338,500. This trade represents a 25.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have bought 6,719 shares of company stock worth $467,180 in the last quarter. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Sempra Stock Up 3.6 %

SRE stock opened at $70.30 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. Sempra has a 1 year low of $64.89 and a 1 year high of $95.77. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $79.57 and a 200 day simple moving average of $83.97. The firm has a market cap of $45.80 billion, a PE ratio of 15.48, a PEG ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.76.

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

Sempra Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 20th will be issued a $0.645 dividend. This represents a $2.58 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 20th. This is an increase from Sempra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 58.37%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Mizuho lowered their price objective on shares of Sempra from $92.00 to $76.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of Sempra from $92.00 to $78.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Guggenheim lowered their price objective on shares of Sempra from $95.00 to $87.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Sempra from $100.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $77.00 price objective (down from $96.00) on shares of Sempra in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $81.50.

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.