Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Shares Acquired by Bahl & Gaynor Inc.

Bahl & Gaynor Inc. lifted its position in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 1.3% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 4,338,565 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 54,592 shares during the period. Sempra comprises 1.9% of Bahl & Gaynor Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Bahl & Gaynor Inc.’s holdings in Sempra were worth $324,221,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in SRE. AE Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Sempra by 118.6% during the 3rd quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 18,796 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,279,000 after purchasing an additional 10,198 shares during the period. RFG Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in Sempra in the 3rd quarter worth $218,000. Park Place Capital Corp raised its position in Sempra by 100.0% during the third quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 1,010 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $69,000 after acquiring an additional 505 shares during the period. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Sempra by 106.9% during the third quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 658 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 340 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA grew its position in shares of Sempra by 98.2% in the third quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 2,598 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $177,000 after purchasing an additional 1,287 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Sempra Stock Performance

SRE opened at $71.32 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.08 billion, a PE ratio of 14.89, a PEG ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.71. Sempra has a twelve month low of $63.75 and a twelve month high of $79.30. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $70.55 and its 200 day moving average price is $71.68. The company has a current ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $3.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.01 billion. Sempra had a net margin of 18.26% and a return on equity of 9.45%. Sempra’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.17 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Sempra will post 4.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 21st were issued a $0.62 dividend. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.48%. This is a positive change from Sempra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 20th. Sempra’s payout ratio is presently 51.77%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sempra

In other Sempra news, EVP Justin Christopher Bird sold 5,063 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.22, for a total value of $360,586.86. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 19,712 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,403,888.64. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Jeffrey W. Martin sold 50,703 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.92, for a total value of $3,595,856.76. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2 shares in the company, valued at approximately $141.84. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Justin Christopher Bird sold 5,063 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.22, for a total transaction of $360,586.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 19,712 shares in the company, valued at $1,403,888.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 122,432 shares of company stock worth $8,668,035 in the last ninety days. 0.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on SRE shares. Mizuho cut their target price on shares of Sempra from $83.00 to $79.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH started coverage on shares of Sempra in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $81.50 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Sempra from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Sempra from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $76.00 to $84.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Sempra from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Sempra currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $82.14.

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.