Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Position Cut by Premier Fund Managers Ltd

Premier Fund Managers Ltd trimmed its position in Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 19.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 34,000 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 8,000 shares during the quarter. Premier Fund Managers Ltd's holdings in Sempra were worth $2,830,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Perennial Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Sempra by 2.8% during the second quarter. Perennial Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,963 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $377,000 after buying an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in Sempra by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC now owns 4,983 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $379,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the period. Marcum Wealth LLC increased its holdings in Sempra by 3.5% in the 2nd quarter. Marcum Wealth LLC now owns 4,019 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $306,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC raised its position in Sempra by 1.6% in the third quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 8,742 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $731,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares during the period. Finally, SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Sempra by 4.0% during the second quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,794 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $289,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.65% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Sempra from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Sempra in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. They set a "buy" rating and a $98.00 target price on the stock. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Sempra in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They set a "buy" rating and a $94.00 price target for the company. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Sempra from $87.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Sempra from $93.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $89.00.

Sempra Stock Performance

Shares of SRE traded down $0.32 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $93.06. The stock had a trading volume of 509,689 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,890,510. The company has a quick ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The company has a market cap of $58.94 billion, a PE ratio of 20.57, a PEG ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.75. Sempra has a fifty-two week low of $66.40 and a fifty-two week high of $93.87. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $84.94 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $80.30.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $2.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.54 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.08 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Sempra will post 4.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Sempra Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 5th will be given a dividend of $0.62 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.66%. Sempra's dividend payout ratio is currently 54.63%.

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.