Everpar Advisors LLC Makes New $376,000 Investment in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Everpar Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund acquired 5,033 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $376,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of SRE. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Sempra by 101.8% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 62,117,948 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,225,884,000 after acquiring an additional 31,334,782 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Sempra by 101.4% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 24,206,231 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,646,750,000 after buying an additional 12,184,568 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Sempra by 147.0% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 14,360,225 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $976,926,000 after buying an additional 8,546,205 shares during the last quarter. Newport Trust Company LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Sempra by 104.0% in the 3rd quarter. Newport Trust Company LLC now owns 14,416,527 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $980,756,000 after buying an additional 7,348,746 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Sempra by 109.0% in the 3rd quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 12,154,272 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $826,855,000 after buying an additional 6,338,545 shares during the last quarter. 89.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sempra Stock Performance

Sempra stock traded up $1.24 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $75.23. The stock had a trading volume of 4,095,654 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,973,595. Sempra has a 12 month low of $63.75 and a 12 month high of $78.70. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $70.74 and its 200 day moving average price is $71.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.56 billion, a PE ratio of 15.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a quick ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last announced its quarterly 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). Sempra had a net margin of 18.26% and a return on equity of 9.45%. The company had revenue of $3.64 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.58 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.46 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 44.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Sempra will post 4.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 21st were given a dividend of $0.62 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 20th. This is a boost from Sempra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.30%. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.77%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on SRE shares. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Sempra from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Sempra from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $76.00 to $84.00 in a report on Thursday, January 11th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Sempra from $79.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Sempra from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Finally, Mizuho lowered their price objective on Sempra from $83.00 to $79.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $82.23.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Diana L. Day sold 3,937 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.21, for a total transaction of $280,353.77. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 18,145 shares in the company, valued at $1,292,105.45. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, EVP Justin Christopher Bird sold 5,063 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.22, for a total value of $360,586.86. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 19,712 shares in the company, valued at $1,403,888.64. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Diana L. Day sold 3,937 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.21, for a total transaction of $280,353.77. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 18,145 shares in the company, valued at $1,292,105.45. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 122,432 shares of company stock worth $8,668,035 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.27% 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.