Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Shares Sold by Perpetual Ltd

Perpetual Ltd decreased its position in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 9.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,481,606 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 268,467 shares during the period. Sempra comprises 2.6% of Perpetual Ltd’s holdings, making the stock its 7th largest holding. Perpetual Ltd’s holdings in Sempra were worth $217,686,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Eastern Bank bought a new stake in shares of Sempra during the third quarter worth about $28,000. Hollencrest Capital Management boosted its stake in shares of Sempra by 250.0% in the 3rd quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 378 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 270 shares during the last quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. increased its position in shares of Sempra by 225.6% during the fourth 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 period. LRI Investments LLC lifted its holdings in Sempra by 180.4% in the third quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 443 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 285 shares during the period. Finally, Mather Group LLC. boosted its position in Sempra by 35.5% during the third quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 740 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $62,000 after acquiring an additional 194 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Sempra Price Performance

SRE stock opened at $85.24 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a current ratio of 0.52. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $88.50 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $83.92. The company has a market capitalization of $53.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.78. Sempra has a 52-week low of $66.40 and a 52-week high of $95.77.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.05 by ($0.16). Sempra had a net margin of 22.63% and a return on equity of 8.06%. The firm had revenue of $2.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.54 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.08 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Sempra will post 4.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 5th were issued a $0.62 dividend. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 5th. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 54.63%.

Insider Activity at Sempra

In other Sempra news, VP Trevor I. Mihalik sold 23,713 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.09, for a total transaction of $2,207,443.17. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 11,190 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,041,677.10. The trade was a 67.94 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.27% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on SRE shares. Morgan Stanley raised Sempra from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $85.00 to $98.00 in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Sempra from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Sempra from $93.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Sempra from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Sempra from $89.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $91.60.

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.