Csenge Advisory Group Acquires 499 Shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Csenge Advisory Group raised its holdings in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 7.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,806 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 499 shares during the quarter. Csenge Advisory Group’s holdings in Sempra were worth $489,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Sempra by 101.8% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 62,117,948 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,225,884,000 after purchasing an additional 31,334,782 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in Sempra by 12.1% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 27,123,899 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,026,969,000 after purchasing an additional 2,917,668 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Sempra in the fourth quarter worth about $958,253,000. Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of Sempra by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 12,344,960 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $922,539,000 after acquiring an additional 190,688 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of Sempra by 7.7% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,077,642 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $528,912,000 after acquiring an additional 507,622 shares during the last quarter. 89.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Peter R. Wall sold 6,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.07, for a total transaction of $457,927.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 14,751 shares in the company, valued at $1,107,357.57. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Sempra news, Director Richard J. Mark acquired 1,925 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 17th. The shares were 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 directly owns 5,420 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $422,597.40. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Peter R. Wall sold 6,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.07, for a total value of $457,927.00. Following 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. Company insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on Sempra from $86.00 to $84.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Barclays boosted their price target on Sempra from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. Mizuho boosted their price target on Sempra from $79.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH dropped their price target on Sempra from $81.50 to $79.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Sempra from $79.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $82.10.

Sempra Price Performance

NYSE SRE traded up $0.83 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $76.93. The stock had a trading volume of 1,568,195 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,984,415. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $75.81 and its 200 day moving average is $73.06. Sempra has a twelve month low of $63.75 and a twelve month high of $78.83. 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 $48.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.00, a PEG ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.74.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.35 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $3.64 billion during 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%. The business’s revenue was down 44.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.46 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Sempra will post 4.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 27th will be paid a $0.62 dividend. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.22%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 27th. Sempra’s payout ratio is presently 54.93%.

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.