Proficio Capital Partners LLC Purchases New Shares in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 168,265 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $14,760,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new position in shares of Sempra during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Human Investing LLC bought a new position in shares of Sempra during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Hollencrest Capital Management lifted its position in shares of Sempra by 250.0% during the 3rd quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 378 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 270 shares in the last quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. boosted its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LRI Investments LLC increased its position in shares of Sempra by 180.4% during the third quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 443 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 285 shares during the last quarter. 89.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sempra Stock Down 0.6 %

Sempra stock opened at $71.50 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $83.13 and a 200 day simple moving average of $84.75. The company has a current ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. Sempra has a 1-year low of $64.89 and a 1-year high of $95.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.78.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last announced 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. The company had revenue of $3.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.73 billion. Sempra had a return on equity of 8.06% and a net margin of 22.63%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.13 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Sempra will post 4.76 earnings per share 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 issued a $0.645 dividend. This represents a $2.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.61%. This is an increase from Sempra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 20th. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio is presently 56.11%.

Insider Activity

In other Sempra news, CEO Jeffrey W. Martin sold 49,737 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $165.88. This trade represents a 100.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at 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 value 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 trade represents a 16.54 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SRE has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Sempra from $96.00 to $88.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Sempra from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Guggenheim lowered their price objective on shares of Sempra from $95.00 to $87.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Sempra from $100.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $99.00 to $76.00 in a research note on Wednesday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Sempra has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $84.54.

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.