Chesapeake Capital Corp IL Reduces Position in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Chesapeake Capital Corp IL lessened its holdings in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 56.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,516 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 4,504 shares during the period. Chesapeake Capital Corp IL’s holdings in Sempra were worth $308,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of SRE. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in Sempra by 9.7% during the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 10,744 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $899,000 after acquiring an additional 951 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its stake in Sempra by 6.8% during the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 31,674 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,649,000 after acquiring an additional 2,010 shares in the last quarter. AMG National Trust Bank grew its stake in Sempra by 7.8% during the 3rd quarter. AMG National Trust Bank now owns 5,208 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $436,000 after acquiring an additional 375 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Sempra during the 3rd quarter valued at about $81,000. Finally, Meeder Advisory Services Inc. boosted its holdings in Sempra by 6.4% in the 3rd quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 12,110 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,013,000 after purchasing an additional 729 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Sempra news, Director Pablo Ferrero bought 2,600 shares of Sempra stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $70.96 per share, for a total transaction of $184,496.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 15,649 shares in the company, valued at $1,110,453.04. This represents a 19.92 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director James C. Yardley bought 5,019 shares of Sempra stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $69.74 per share, for a total transaction of $350,025.06. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 5,019 shares in the company, valued at $350,025.06. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have acquired a total of 9,319 shares of company stock worth $651,676 in the last ninety days. 0.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Sempra Stock Performance

Shares of SRE stock opened at $70.74 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $79.04 and its 200-day moving average price is $83.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a current ratio of 0.52. Sempra has a one year low of $64.89 and a one year high of $95.77. The firm has a market cap of $46.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.58, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.76.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.47 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $3.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.73 billion. Sempra had a net margin of 22.63% and a return on equity of 8.06%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.13 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Sempra will post 4.76 EPS for the current year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.645 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 20th. This is a positive change from Sempra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. This represents a $2.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.65%. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio is 58.37%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SRE has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Sempra from $96.00 to $88.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Guggenheim decreased their target price on shares of Sempra from $95.00 to $87.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. UBS Group lowered shares of Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $95.00 to $78.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Sempra from $100.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $77.00 target price (down from $96.00) on shares of Sempra in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $81.50.

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.