Csenge Advisory Group Purchases 499 Shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Csenge Advisory Group lifted its stake in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 7.9% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 6,806 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 499 shares during the quarter. Csenge Advisory Group’s holdings in Sempra were worth $489,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Crestline Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of Sempra by 14.0% during the 4th quarter. Crestline Management LP now owns 119,174 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $8,906,000 after acquiring an additional 14,674 shares during the last quarter. Ausbil Investment Management Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Sempra by 13.5% during the 4th quarter. Ausbil Investment Management Ltd now owns 172,129 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $12,863,000 after acquiring an additional 20,469 shares during the last quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Sempra by 932.2% during the 4th quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 43,848 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,277,000 after acquiring an additional 39,600 shares during the last quarter. CUSHING ASSET MANAGEMENT LP dba NXG INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT purchased a new position in Sempra in the 4th quarter worth $9,715,000. Finally, D.A. Davidson & CO. increased its position in shares of Sempra by 14.4% in the fourth quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 41,202 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,079,000 after acquiring an additional 5,197 shares during the period. 89.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Sempra Stock Performance

SRE stock traded up $0.83 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $76.93. 1,568,195 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,984,415. Sempra has a 52-week low of $63.75 and a 52-week high of $78.83. The stock has a market cap of $48.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.00, a PEG ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a current ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $75.81 and its 200 day moving average is $73.06.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.35 by ($0.01). Sempra had a net margin of 20.99% and a return on equity of 8.95%. The business had revenue of $3.64 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.58 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.46 EPS. Sempra’s revenue for the quarter was down 44.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Sempra will post 4.8 EPS for the current year.

Sempra Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 27th will be paid a $0.62 dividend. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.22%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 27th. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio is presently 54.93%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Sempra news, CAO Peter R. Wall sold 6,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.07, for a total transaction of $457,927.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 14,751 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,107,357.57. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Sempra news, Director Richard J. Mark bought 1,925 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 17th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $77.97 per share, with a total value of $150,092.25. Following the transaction, the director now owns 5,420 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $422,597.40. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Peter R. Wall sold 6,100 shares of Sempra stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.07, for a total transaction of $457,927.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 14,751 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,107,357.57. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH decreased their price objective on shares of Sempra from $81.50 to $79.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 29th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on shares of Sempra from $86.00 to $84.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Sempra from $79.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 8th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Sempra from $79.00 to $76.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Sempra from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Sempra has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $82.10.

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.