Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Shares Sold by A. D. Beadell Investment Counsel Inc.

A. D. Beadell Investment Counsel Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 6.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 6,775 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 435 shares during the period. A. D. Beadell Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Sempra were worth $594,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Savant Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Sempra by 18.8% in the second quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 6,069 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $462,000 after purchasing an additional 961 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Sempra by 739.7% during the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 15,182 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,153,000 after acquiring an additional 13,374 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Sempra during the second quarter worth about $33,000. Choreo LLC boosted its holdings in Sempra by 81.5% in the 2nd quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 24,377 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,830,000 after purchasing an additional 10,945 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its position in Sempra by 5.5% during the 2nd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 85,521 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,505,000 after purchasing an additional 4,437 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Trevor I. Mihalik sold 23,713 shares of Sempra stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.09, for a total transaction of $2,207,443.17. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 11,190 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,041,677.10. The trade was a 67.94 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Sempra Price Performance

NYSE:SRE traded down $3.68 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $79.14. 1,992,321 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,424,706. The stock has a market cap of $50.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.78. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $89.06 and its 200-day moving average is $83.58. Sempra has a 1-year low of $66.40 and a 1-year high of $95.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.52 and a quick ratio of 0.47.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by ($0.16). The business had revenue of $2.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.54 billion. Sempra had a return on equity of 8.06% and a net margin of 22.63%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.08 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Sempra will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 5th will be given a $0.62 dividend. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 5th. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 54.63%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SRE has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley raised Sempra from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $85.00 to $98.00 in a report on Friday, December 13th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Sempra from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Sempra from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Sempra in a report on Thursday, October 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $98.00 target price for the company. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Sempra from $93.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $91.60.

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.