PGGM Investments Grows Stock Holdings in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

PGGM Investments lifted its position in Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 12.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,581 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,750 shares during the quarter. PGGM Investments’ holdings in Sempra were worth $1,164,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Leisure Capital Management purchased a new position in shares of Sempra during the 4th quarter valued at about $319,000. Intact Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Sempra by 240.2% during the fourth quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. now owns 76,200 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,694,000 after acquiring an additional 53,800 shares during the last quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI raised its stake in shares of Sempra by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 28,928 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,162,000 after acquiring an additional 201 shares in the last quarter. Golden State Equity Partners lifted its holdings in shares of Sempra by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Golden State Equity Partners now owns 16,167 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,208,000 after acquiring an additional 338 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bahl & Gaynor Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Sempra by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 4,338,565 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $324,221,000 after purchasing an additional 54,592 shares in the last quarter. 89.65% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sempra Price Performance

SRE opened at $72.28 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $70.58 and its 200-day moving average price is $71.75. Sempra has a 52-week low of $63.75 and a 52-week high of $79.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.69 billion, a PE ratio of 15.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a current ratio of 0.54.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 27th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.02. Sempra had a net margin of 18.26% and a return on equity of 9.45%. The business had revenue of $3.49 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.01 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.17 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Sempra will post 4.82 EPS for the current year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 21st were paid a $0.62 dividend. This is an increase from Sempra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 20th. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio is presently 51.77%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Diana L. Day sold 3,937 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.21, for a total value of $280,353.77. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 18,145 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,292,105.45. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Diana L. Day sold 3,937 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.21, for a total value of $280,353.77. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 18,145 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,292,105.45. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Trevor I. Mihalik sold 57,571 shares of Sempra stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.59, for a total transaction of $4,063,936.89. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 10,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $770,983.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 122,432 shares of company stock worth $8,668,035 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on SRE. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $82.00 target price on shares of Sempra in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. StockNews.com downgraded Sempra from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Sempra from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 21st. BMO Capital Markets raised Sempra from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $76.00 to $84.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. Finally, Mizuho dropped their price objective on Sempra from $83.00 to $79.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $82.14.

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.