Fisher Asset Management LLC Invests $326,000 in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Fisher Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Sempra (NYSE:SRE) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 3,713 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $326,000.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in Sempra in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Human Investing LLC acquired a new stake in Sempra in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Hollencrest Capital Management grew its stake in Sempra by 250.0% in the 3rd quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 378 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 270 shares during the period. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. increased its holdings in Sempra by 225.6% in the 4th quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 433 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LRI Investments LLC raised its position in Sempra by 180.4% during the third quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 443 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 285 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Sempra Stock Performance

Shares of Sempra stock opened at $69.23 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a current ratio of 0.52. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $81.42 and its 200 day moving average price is $84.39. The company has a market cap of $45.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.25, a PEG ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.76. Sempra has a one year low of $64.89 and a one year high of $95.77.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.47 by $0.03. Sempra had a return on equity of 8.06% and a net margin of 22.63%. The business had revenue of $3.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.73 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.13 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Sempra will post 4.76 EPS for the current year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 20th will be paid a $0.645 dividend. This is a boost from Sempra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 20th. This represents a $2.58 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.73%. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio is 58.37%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SRE has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Mizuho dropped their target price on shares of Sempra from $92.00 to $76.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Sempra from $96.00 to $88.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $77.00 price objective (down from $96.00) on shares of Sempra in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Sempra from $100.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, UBS Group cut Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $95.00 to $78.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $81.50.

Insider Transactions at Sempra

In other Sempra news, CEO Jeffrey W. Martin sold 49,737 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.94, for a total value of $4,125,186.78. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $165.88. This represents a 100.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 2,755 shares of Sempra stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.93, for a total transaction of $225,717.15. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 13,905 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,139,236.65. This represents a 16.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

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.