Bull Oak Capital LLC Sells 2,736 Shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Bull Oak Capital LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 54.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,323 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 2,736 shares during the quarter. Sempra makes up about 0.1% of Bull Oak Capital LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest holding. Bull Oak Capital LLC’s holdings in Sempra were worth $204,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new position in shares of Sempra during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Human Investing LLC bought a new position in Sempra in the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Hollencrest Capital Management lifted its position in Sempra by 250.0% during the third quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 378 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 270 shares in the last quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. grew its holdings in Sempra by 225.6% during the fourth quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 433 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. Finally, LRI Investments LLC increased its position in Sempra by 180.4% in the third quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 443 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 285 shares in the last quarter. 89.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sempra Trading Up 2.9 %

Shares of Sempra stock opened at $72.70 on Thursday. Sempra has a twelve month low of $64.89 and a twelve month high of $95.77. The company has a quick ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $83.71 and a 200-day moving average price of $84.84. The firm has a market cap of $46.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.01, a PEG ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.78.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.73 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.13 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Sempra will post 4.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 20th will be given a $0.645 dividend. This represents a $2.58 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 20th. This is a boost from Sempra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. Sempra’s payout ratio is currently 56.11%.

Insider Activity at Sempra

In other news, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 2,755 shares of Sempra stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.93, for a total value of $225,717.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 13,905 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,139,236.65. The trade was a 16.54 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Jeffrey W. Martin sold 49,737 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2 shares in the company, valued at $165.88. The trade was a 100.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Mizuho lowered their price objective on Sempra from $92.00 to $76.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Sempra from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Sempra from $100.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $99.00 to $76.00 in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, UBS Group downgraded shares of Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $95.00 to $78.00 in a report on Wednesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $86.31.

Sempra 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.