Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Shares Acquired by Beacon Capital Management LLC

Beacon Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 22.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,104 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 204 shares during the period. Beacon Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Sempra were worth $79,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SRE. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Sempra during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Sempra by 195.1% during the fourth quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 419 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 277 shares during the period. Financial Connections Group Inc. bought a new stake in Sempra during the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Rational Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Sempra in the 1st quarter worth approximately $43,000. Finally, AdvisorNet Financial Inc boosted its stake in Sempra by 34.5% in the 4th quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 600 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares during the period. 89.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sempra

In other news, CAO Peter R. Wall sold 6,100 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 18th. The shares were 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, CAO Peter R. Wall sold 6,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Richard J. Mark acquired 1,925 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 17th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $77.97 per share, with a total value of $150,092.25. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,420 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $422,597.40. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Sempra Trading Up 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE SRE traded up $1.36 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $81.42. The stock had a trading volume of 1,372,668 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,966,826. The firm has a market cap of $51.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.74. Sempra has a twelve month low of $63.75 and a twelve month high of $81.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 0.62. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $76.37 and its 200 day moving average price is $73.34.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last announced 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 net margin of 20.99% and a return on equity of 8.95%. The business had revenue of $3.64 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.58 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.46 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 44.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Sempra will post 4.8 EPS for the current year.

Sempra Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 3.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 27th. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.99%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH cut their target price on shares of Sempra from $81.50 to $79.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 29th. Wells Fargo & Company raised 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. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Sempra from $79.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of 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, BMO Capital Markets decreased 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $82.10.

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.