Sierra Ocean LLC Makes New Investment in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund purchased 2,911 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $255,000.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SRE. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Sempra in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Eastern Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Sempra in the third quarter valued at $28,000. Hollencrest Capital Management raised its stake in shares of Sempra by 250.0% in the third quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 378 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 270 shares in the last quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. raised its stake in shares of Sempra by 225.6% in the fourth quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 433 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LRI Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of Sempra by 180.4% in the third quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 443 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 285 shares in the last quarter. 89.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Sempra Stock Performance

Shares of SRE stock opened at $84.19 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $84.61 and its two-hundred day moving average is $84.67. The firm has a market cap of $53.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.54, a PEG ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 0.78. 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 quick ratio of 0.47 and a current ratio of 0.52.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Sempra news, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 2,755 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.93, for a total transaction of $225,717.15. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 13,905 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,139,236.65. This trade represents a 16.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jeffrey W. Martin sold 49,737 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.94, for a total value of $4,125,186.78. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2 shares in the company, valued at approximately $165.88. This represents a 100.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 76,205 shares of company stock valued at $6,558,347. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Sempra from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Morgan Stanley upgraded Sempra from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $85.00 to $98.00 in a research note on Friday, December 13th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Sempra from $93.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Sempra in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $98.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their target price on Sempra from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $91.20.

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.