Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC Invests $264,000 in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE) in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 3,676 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $264,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of SRE. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Sempra in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Sempra by 195.1% in the 4th quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 419 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 277 shares during the period. Financial Connections Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Sempra in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Planned Solutions Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Sempra in the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sempra in the 4th quarter valued at $45,000. 89.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on SRE shares. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH decreased their price target on shares of Sempra from $81.50 to $79.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 29th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $82.00 target price on shares of Sempra in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Sempra from $79.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Sempra from $79.00 to $76.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Finally, Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Sempra from $79.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Sempra currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $82.10.

Insider Transactions at Sempra

In related news, CAO Peter R. Wall sold 6,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 18th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,107,357.57. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Sempra news, CAO Peter R. Wall sold 6,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.07, for a total value of $457,927.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 14,751 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,107,357.57. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Richard J. Mark bought 1,925 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 17th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $77.97 per share, with a total value of $150,092.25. Following the transaction, the director now owns 5,420 shares in the company, valued at approximately $422,597.40. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Sempra Stock Up 0.2 %

SRE stock traded up $0.12 during trading on Friday, reaching $76.06. The stock had a trading volume of 4,745,654 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,030,404. Sempra has a 1-year low of $63.75 and a 1-year high of $78.83. The company has a current ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The company has a market capitalization of $47.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.83, a PEG ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.74. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $74.95 and a 200 day moving average price of $72.99.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 return on equity of 8.95% and a net margin of 20.99%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 44.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.46 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Sempra will post 4.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Sempra Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 27th will be given a $0.62 dividend. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.26%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 27th. Sempra’s payout ratio is currently 54.93%.

Sempra Company 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.