Hoylecohen LLC Buys 727 Shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Hoylecohen LLC increased its stake in Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 2.7% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 27,988 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 727 shares during the period. Hoylecohen LLC’s holdings in Sempra were worth $2,092,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Mechanics Bank Trust Department raised its holdings in shares of Sempra by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Mechanics Bank Trust Department now owns 10,182 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $761,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. raised its stake in shares of Sempra by 7.5% in the fourth quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 2,081 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $156,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. Sandy Spring Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Sempra by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Sandy Spring Bank now owns 18,610 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,391,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Clarius Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Sempra by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Clarius Group LLC now owns 4,255 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $318,000 after buying an additional 152 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AdvisorNet Financial Inc grew its holdings in Sempra by 34.5% during the fourth quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 600 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SRE has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com cut Sempra from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Sempra from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Sempra from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Sempra from $79.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 8th. Finally, Mizuho increased their price target on Sempra from $79.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $82.86.

Insider Transactions at Sempra

In other Sempra news, Director Richard J. Mark acquired 1,925 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 17th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $77.97 per share, with a total value of $150,092.25. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 5,420 shares in the company, valued at $422,597.40. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, Director Richard J. Mark bought 1,925 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 17th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $77.97 per share, for a total transaction of $150,092.25. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 5,420 shares in the company, valued at $422,597.40. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Diana L. Day sold 3,937 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.21, for a total value of $280,353.77. Following the sale, the insider now owns 18,145 shares in the company, valued at $1,292,105.45. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 122,432 shares of company stock worth $8,668,035 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Sempra Stock Performance

Sempra stock traded down $0.02 during trading on Friday, hitting $75.84. The stock had a trading volume of 1,870,848 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,359,791. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $72.40 and its two-hundred day moving average is $72.44. Sempra has a 1 year low of $63.75 and a 1 year high of $78.83. The stock has a market cap of $48.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last issued its quarterly 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). Sempra had a net margin of 20.99% and a return on equity of 8.95%. The firm had revenue of $3.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.58 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.46 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 44.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Sempra will post 4.82 EPS for the current year.

Sempra Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 27th will be paid a $0.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 27th. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.27%. Sempra’s payout ratio is 54.93%.

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.