Marion Wealth Management Raises Stock Holdings in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Marion Wealth Management grew its position in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 1.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,765 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 190 shares during the period. Marion Wealth Management’s holdings in Sempra were worth $917,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. First Hawaiian Bank lifted its holdings in Sempra by 7.4% during the 1st quarter. First Hawaiian Bank now owns 26,285 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,888,000 after buying an additional 1,811 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Sempra by 12.6% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,112 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $367,000 after buying an additional 573 shares during the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Sempra by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 69,423 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,986,000 after purchasing an additional 1,884 shares during the last quarter. General Partner Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Sempra in the 1st quarter worth approximately $104,000. Finally, Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda bought a new stake in shares of Sempra in the 4th quarter worth approximately $488,000. Institutional investors own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sempra

In related news, Director Richard J. Mark bought 1,925 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 17th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $77.97 per share, for a total transaction of $150,092.25. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 5,420 shares in the company, valued at $422,597.40. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Sempra news, Director Richard J. Mark acquired 1,925 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 17th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $77.97 per share, for a total transaction of $150,092.25. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now 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 accessible through this link. Also, CAO Peter R. Wall sold 6,100 shares of Sempra 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 completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 14,751 shares in the company, valued at $1,107,357.57. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Sempra Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of Sempra stock traded up $0.26 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $75.10. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,443,090 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,775,743. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.63, a PEG ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.74. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $74.18 and a 200-day simple moving average of $72.87. 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 has a 1-year low of $63.75 and a 1-year high of $78.83.

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

Sempra Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 27th will be issued a dividend of $0.62 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 27th. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.30%. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 54.93%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on SRE shares. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH cut their price target on Sempra from $81.50 to $79.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 29th. Mizuho raised their target price on Sempra from $79.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $82.00 target price on shares of Sempra in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Sempra from $79.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 8th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Sempra from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $82.00.

Sempra Company 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.