Cornerstone Advisors LLC Has $3.20 Million Stock Position in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Cornerstone Advisors LLC lowered its position in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 20.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 44,600 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 11,400 shares during the quarter. Cornerstone Advisors LLC’s holdings in Sempra were worth $3,204,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in Sempra by 103.1% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 274,057 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $18,644,000 after acquiring an additional 139,117 shares during the last quarter. BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Sempra in the 4th quarter worth $45,000. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC grew its stake in shares of Sempra by 8.7% during the fourth quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 17,262 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,319,000 after purchasing an additional 1,386 shares during the period. Patten Group Inc. bought a new stake in Sempra in the fourth quarter valued at about $243,000. Finally, Raymond James Trust N.A. lifted its stake in Sempra by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 13,298 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $994,000 after buying an additional 483 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on SRE shares. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on shares of Sempra from $86.00 to $84.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Sempra from $79.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 8th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH decreased their price target on shares of Sempra from $81.50 to $79.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 29th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Sempra from $79.00 to $76.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 24th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their target price on Sempra from $79.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $82.10.

Sempra Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE SRE traded down $0.20 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $77.57. The company had a trading volume of 1,559,553 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,911,866. Sempra has a 1-year low of $63.75 and a 1-year high of $79.46. 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 firm’s 50 day moving average is $76.18 and its 200-day moving average is $73.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $48.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.74.

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

Sempra Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 27th were issued a dividend of $0.62 per share. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.20%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 27th. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio is 54.93%.

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.