Ninepoint Partners LP Purchases 902 Shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Ninepoint Partners LP lifted its position in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 6.5% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 14,731 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 902 shares during the period. Ninepoint Partners LP’s holdings in Sempra were worth $1,292,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new stake in shares of Sempra during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sempra during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Human Investing LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sempra during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. raised its position in shares of 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 last quarter. Finally, LRI Investments LLC raised its position in shares of 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 last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Sempra Stock Up 3.6 %

SRE stock opened at $70.30 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.52 and a quick ratio of 0.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.48, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.76. The business has a 50-day moving average of $79.57 and a 200-day moving average of $83.98. Sempra has a fifty-two week low of $64.89 and a fifty-two week high of $95.77.

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

Sempra Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on SRE shares. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Sempra from $96.00 to $88.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $77.00 price objective (down previously from $96.00) on shares of Sempra in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Sempra from $100.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Mizuho dropped their price objective on Sempra from $92.00 to $76.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $99.00 to $76.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Sempra currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $81.50.

Insider Activity at Sempra

In related news, Director Michael N. Mears purchased 1,000 shares of Sempra stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $67.70 per share, with a total value of $67,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 5,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $338,500. This trade represents a 25.00 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Jeffrey W. Martin sold 49,737 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $165.88. This trade represents a 100.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders purchased 6,719 shares of company stock valued at $467,180. Insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

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.