Horizon Investments LLC Increases Stock Position in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Horizon Investments LLC grew its position in Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 1.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 41,977 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 787 shares during the period. Horizon Investments LLC’s holdings in Sempra were worth $3,682,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Lindbrook Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Sempra by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 2,410 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $211,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Sempra by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,585 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $227,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Avantax Planning Partners Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Sempra by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Avantax Planning Partners Inc. now owns 7,423 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $651,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares during the last quarter. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI raised its holdings in shares of Sempra by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI now owns 6,677 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $586,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kingsview Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Sempra by 0.3% in the third quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 46,518 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,890,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Sempra news, Director Pablo Ferrero acquired 2,600 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The shares were bought at an average price of $70.96 per share, for a total transaction of $184,496.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 15,649 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,110,453.04. This represents a 19.92 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Cynthia J. Warner acquired 700 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $70.65 per share, for a total transaction of $49,455.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 8,759 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $618,823.35. This represents a 8.69 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have acquired 9,319 shares of company stock worth $651,676. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Sempra Price Performance

SRE stock opened at $70.74 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $79.04 and a 200-day moving average of $83.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.76. Sempra has a 12 month low of $64.89 and a 12 month high of $95.77. The company has a current ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89.

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

Sempra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 20th will be given a $0.645 dividend. This represents a $2.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.65%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 20th. This is an increase from Sempra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 58.37%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Mizuho lowered their target price on shares of Sempra from $92.00 to $76.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Barclays lowered shares of Sempra from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $95.00 to $72.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Sempra from $96.00 to $88.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $99.00 to $76.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Argus lowered shares of Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.