AMF Tjanstepension AB Lowers Stock Holdings in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

AMF Tjanstepension AB cut its position in Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 13.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 256,946 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 40,035 shares during the quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB's holdings in Sempra were worth $22,591,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Sempra in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Sempra in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Human Investing LLC acquired a new stake in Sempra during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Hollencrest Capital Management grew its position in 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 purchasing an additional 270 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ST Germain D J Co. Inc. increased its stake in Sempra by 225.6% in the fourth quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 433 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.65% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on shares of Sempra from $92.00 to $78.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Sempra from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their target price for the company from $99.00 to $76.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "hold" rating and set a $77.00 price target (down previously from $96.00) on shares of Sempra in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. UBS Group lowered shares of Sempra from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $95.00 to $78.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Guggenheim cut their price objective on shares of Sempra from $95.00 to $87.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Sempra currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $81.50.

Remove Ads

Sempra Price Performance

Shares of SRE traded up $0.21 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $69.00. The company had a trading volume of 4,421,794 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,644,789. 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 12-month low of $64.89 and a 12-month high of $95.77. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $80.68 and a 200-day simple moving average of $84.27. The company has a market capitalization of $44.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.20, a PEG ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.76.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 net margin of 22.63% and a return on equity of 8.06%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.13 earnings per share. Research analysts expect 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 paid a dividend of $0.645 per share. This represents a $2.58 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.74%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 20th. This is an increase from Sempra's previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. Sempra's payout ratio is 58.37%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Jeffrey W. Martin sold 49,737 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 approximately $165.88. This represents a 100.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 2,755 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.93, for a total value of $225,717.15. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 13,905 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,139,236.65. The trade was a 16.54 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

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.