4,195 Shares in Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Bought by Vicus Capital

Vicus Capital acquired a new position in Sempra (NYSE:SRE) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 4,195 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $301,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Independence Bank of Kentucky raised its position in shares of Sempra by 1,690.8% in the first quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 1,755 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $126,000 after buying an additional 1,657 shares in the last quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. raised its position in Sempra by 16.7% during the first quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 4,960 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $356,000 after purchasing an additional 709 shares in the last quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB raised its position in Sempra by 75.9% during the first quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 1,087,061 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $78,115,000 after purchasing an additional 469,174 shares in the last quarter. Brookmont Capital Management raised its position in Sempra by 2.9% during the first quarter. Brookmont Capital Management now owns 18,892 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,357,000 after purchasing an additional 532 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Sempra during the first quarter valued at about $264,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Sempra Stock Up 0.2 %

NYSE SRE opened at $76.06 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.62 and a quick ratio of 0.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $47.93 billion, a PE ratio of 16.85, a PEG ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.74. Sempra has a 1 year low of $63.75 and a 1 year high of $78.83. The business’s 50-day moving average is $75.22 and its 200 day moving average is $73.02.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last posted 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 business had revenue of $3.64 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.58 billion. Sempra had a return on equity of 8.95% and a net margin of 20.99%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 44.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.46 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Sempra will post 4.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Sempra Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

SRE has been the topic of a number of research reports. Barclays raised their price target on Sempra from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Sempra from $79.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 8th. Mizuho raised their price target on Sempra from $79.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Sempra from $79.00 to $76.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $82.00 price objective on shares of Sempra in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.