Founders Financial Securities LLC Has $2.03 Million Position in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Founders Financial Securities LLC grew its stake in Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 13.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 28,277 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,413 shares during the period. Founders Financial Securities LLC’s holdings in Sempra were worth $2,031,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Fox Hill Wealth Management lifted its position in shares of Sempra by 5.1% in the 1st quarter. Fox Hill Wealth Management now owns 16,573 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,190,000 after purchasing an additional 801 shares during the period. Vicus Capital bought a new stake in Sempra during the first quarter valued at $301,000. Independence Bank of Kentucky grew its holdings in Sempra by 1,690.8% during the 1st quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 1,755 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $126,000 after acquiring an additional 1,657 shares during the period. Financial Management Professionals Inc. grew its holdings in Sempra by 16.7% during the 1st quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 4,960 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $356,000 after acquiring an additional 709 shares during the period. Finally, AMF Tjanstepension AB raised its position in shares of Sempra by 75.9% in the 1st quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 1,087,061 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $78,115,000 after acquiring an additional 469,174 shares in the last quarter. 89.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Sempra

In related news, CAO Peter R. Wall sold 6,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.07, for a total transaction of $457,927.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 14,751 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,107,357.57. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, CAO Peter R. Wall sold 6,100 shares of Sempra stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.07, for a total transaction of $457,927.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 14,751 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,107,357.57. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Richard J. Mark bought 1,925 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 17th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $77.97 per share, for a total transaction of $150,092.25. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 5,420 shares in the company, valued at $422,597.40. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SRE has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $82.00 target price on shares of Sempra in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Sempra from $79.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 8th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH cut their target price on shares of Sempra from $81.50 to $79.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 29th. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Sempra from $79.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Sempra from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $82.10.

Sempra Stock Performance

SRE traded up $0.12 on Friday, hitting $76.06. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,925,608 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,799,087. Sempra has a 12 month low of $63.75 and a 12 month high of $78.83. The firm has a market cap of $47.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $75.22 and its 200-day simple moving average is $73.02.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by ($0.01). Sempra had a return on equity of 8.95% and a net margin of 20.99%. The company had revenue of $3.64 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.58 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.46 earnings per share. Sempra’s revenue was down 44.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Sempra will post 4.8 EPS for the current year.

Sempra Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 27th will be given a dividend of $0.62 per share. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 27th. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio is presently 54.93%.

Sempra 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.