Banco Santander S.A. Buys New Stake in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Banco Santander S.A. bought a new stake in Sempra (NYSE:SRE) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund bought 9,022 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $648,000.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in SRE. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sempra in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Sempra by 195.1% in the 4th quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 419 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 277 shares during the period. Financial Connections Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Sempra in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Planned Solutions Inc. purchased a new stake in Sempra in the 4th quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Rational Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Sempra in the 1st quarter worth $43,000. 89.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Sempra

In other news, Director Richard J. Mark acquired 1,925 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 17th. The stock was purchased 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 owns 5,420 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $422,597.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Richard J. Mark bought 1,925 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 5,420 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $422,597.40. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Peter R. Wall sold 6,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 14,751 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,107,357.57. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Sempra Price Performance

Shares of Sempra stock traded down $0.20 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $77.57. 1,559,553 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, 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 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. The business has a fifty day moving average of $76.18 and a two-hundred day moving average of $73.18. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.34 earnings per share (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 firm had revenue of $3.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.58 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.46 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 44.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Sempra will post 4.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 27th were issued a $0.62 dividend. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 27th. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.93%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.