Picton Mahoney Asset Management Buys 25,113 Shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Picton Mahoney Asset Management grew its stake in Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 28.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 113,783 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 25,113 shares during the quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management’s holdings in Sempra were worth $9,980,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new position in shares of Sempra in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Sempra during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Human Investing LLC bought a new stake in Sempra during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. lifted its holdings in Sempra by 225.6% during 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 during the period. Finally, LRI Investments LLC lifted its holdings in Sempra by 180.4% during 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 during the period. Institutional investors own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Sempra Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SRE opened at $70.30 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $45.80 billion, a PE ratio of 15.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.76. Sempra has a fifty-two week low of $64.89 and a fifty-two week 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. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $79.57 and a 200-day moving average of $83.97.

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

Sempra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 20th will be given a dividend of $0.645 per share. This represents a $2.58 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.67%. This is a boost from Sempra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 20th. Sempra’s payout ratio is presently 58.37%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Michael N. Mears purchased 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $67.70 per share, with a total value of $67,700.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 5,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $338,500. This trade represents a 25.00 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Jeffrey W. Martin sold 49,737 shares of Sempra 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $165.88. This trade represents a 100.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders acquired a total of 6,719 shares of company stock worth $467,180 over the last ninety days. 0.27% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. UBS Group lowered Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $95.00 to $78.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Barclays lowered Sempra from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $95.00 to $72.00 in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $77.00 price target (down from $96.00) on shares of Sempra in a report on Monday, March 3rd. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on Sempra from $92.00 to $78.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $99.00 to $76.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $81.50.

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.