Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Short Interest Down 40.2% in December

Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 9,620,000 shares, a decrease of 40.2% from the December 15th total of 16,100,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 3,370,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.9 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SRE has been the subject of several research reports. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Sempra from $93.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Sempra from $89.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Sempra in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $98.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Sempra from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price target on Sempra from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $91.60.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sempra

In other news, VP Trevor I. Mihalik sold 23,713 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.09, for a total value of $2,207,443.17. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 11,190 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,041,677.10. This trade represents a 67.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. USA Financial Formulas bought a new position in shares of Sempra during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,198,000. Apella Capital LLC bought a new position in Sempra in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $211,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Sempra by 24.1% in the fourth quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 6,435 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $564,000 after buying an additional 1,251 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC increased its position in shares of Sempra by 6.8% during the fourth quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 19,241 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,688,000 after acquiring an additional 1,225 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in shares of Sempra by 177.2% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 49,346 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $4,329,000 after acquiring an additional 31,542 shares in the last quarter. 89.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Sempra Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of SRE stock traded up $1.18 on Tuesday, reaching $78.12. The company had a trading volume of 6,083,679 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,290,360. The stock has a market cap of $49.48 billion, a PE ratio of 17.21, a PEG ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a 50-day moving average of $88.85 and a 200-day moving average of $83.73. 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 $66.40 and a 12 month high of $95.77.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last issued 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). The firm had revenue of $2.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.54 billion. Sempra had a net margin of 22.63% and a return on equity of 8.06%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.08 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Sempra will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Sempra Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.62 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.17%. Sempra's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.

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