HBW Advisory Services LLC Invests $201,000 in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

HBW Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 2,640 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $201,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of SRE. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Sempra during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Sempra by 195.1% in the fourth quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 419 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 277 shares during the period. Financial Connections Group Inc. bought a new stake in Sempra in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Rational Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Sempra in the first quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Finally, Salomon & Ludwin LLC bought a new stake in Sempra in the first quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Institutional investors own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on SRE shares. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Sempra from $79.00 to $76.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 24th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Sempra from $79.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 8th. Mizuho increased their target price on Sempra from $79.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on Sempra from $86.00 to $84.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH lowered their target price on Sempra from $81.50 to $79.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 29th. 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $82.10.

Sempra Price Performance

NYSE:SRE traded down $1.61 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $77.09. 4,744,047 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,993,302. The company has a market capitalization of $48.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.74. Sempra has a 1-year low of $63.75 and a 1-year high of $83.68. 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 business has a 50 day moving average of $76.66 and a 200 day moving average of $73.47.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 company had revenue of $3.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.58 billion. Sempra had a return on equity of 8.95% and a net margin of 20.99%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 44.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.46 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Sempra will post 4.8 EPS for the current year.

Sempra Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 15th. Shareholders 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 3.22%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 27th. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio is presently 54.99%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sempra

In other Sempra news, Director Richard J. Mark bought 1,925 shares of Sempra stock in a transaction 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 acquisition, the director now owns 5,420 shares in the company, valued at approximately $422,597.40. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Sempra news, Director Richard J. Mark bought 1,925 shares of Sempra stock in a transaction 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 acquisition, the director now owns 5,420 shares in the company, valued at approximately $422,597.40. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Peter R. Wall sold 6,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.07, for a total value of $457,927.00. Following the sale, 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 0.24% 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.