Sterling Investment Counsel LLC Takes Position in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Sterling Investment Counsel LLC bought a new position in Sempra (NYSE:SRE) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund bought 2,294 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $201,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in SRE. Eastern Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Sempra during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Hollencrest Capital Management lifted its holdings in shares of Sempra by 250.0% in the 3rd quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 378 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 270 shares during the last quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. grew its position in Sempra by 225.6% in the fourth quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 433 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC grew its position in Sempra by 180.4% in the third quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 443 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 285 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mather Group LLC. raised its position in Sempra by 35.5% during the third quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 740 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $62,000 after purchasing an additional 194 shares during the period. 89.65% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sempra Price Performance

SRE opened at $82.16 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $52.04 billion, a PE ratio of 18.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.78. The business’s 50-day moving average is $87.72 and its two-hundred day moving average is $84.22. Sempra has a 1 year low of $66.40 and a 1 year high of $95.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.52 and a quick ratio of 0.47.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by ($0.16). Sempra had a net margin of 22.63% and a return on equity of 8.06%. The firm had revenue of $2.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.54 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.08 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Sempra will post 4.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 5th were given a dividend of $0.62 per share. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.02%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 5th. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio is presently 54.63%.

Insider Transactions at Sempra

In related news, VP Trevor I. Mihalik sold 23,713 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.09, for a total value of $2,207,443.17. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 11,190 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,041,677.10. This represents a 67.94 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SRE has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Sempra from $99.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Sempra from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Sempra in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $98.00 price objective for the company. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Sempra from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Sempra from $93.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $91.20.

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.