Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Short Interest Down 24.0% in March

Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) saw a large decline in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 6,890,000 shares, a decline of 24.0% from the February 28th total of 9,060,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 5,280,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.3 days. Approximately 1.1% of the company's shares are short sold.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on SRE. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of Sempra from $92.00 to $78.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Argus cut Sempra from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "hold" rating and issued a $77.00 target price (down previously from $96.00) on shares of Sempra in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Mizuho lowered their target price on shares of Sempra from $92.00 to $76.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Sempra from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $81.33.

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Insider Activity

In other news, Director Cynthia J. Warner purchased 700 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $70.65 per share, with a total value of $49,455.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 8,759 shares in the company, valued at $618,823.35. This represents a 8.69 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jeffrey W. Martin sold 49,737 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2 shares in the company, valued at approximately $165.88. The trade was a 100.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders purchased 9,319 shares of company stock worth $651,676 and sold 57,309 shares worth $4,694,019. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of SRE. Lindbrook Capital LLC raised its holdings in Sempra by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 2,410 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $211,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares during the period. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Sempra by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 8,194 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $719,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the period. Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Sempra by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,585 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $227,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. MJP Associates Inc. ADV boosted its stake in Sempra by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. MJP Associates Inc. ADV now owns 6,195 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $543,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. Finally, Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Sempra by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 2,639 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $232,000 after buying an additional 126 shares in the last quarter. 89.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Sempra Stock Performance

Sempra stock traded down $1.72 during trading on Thursday, hitting $71.12. The stock had a trading volume of 3,700,146 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,598,505. The stock's 50 day moving average is $76.45 and its two-hundred day moving average is $82.92. Sempra has a 1 year low of $64.89 and a 1 year high of $95.77. The stock has a market cap of $46.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a quick ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89.

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

Sempra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 20th will be given a $0.645 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 20th. This represents a $2.58 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.63%. This is a positive change from Sempra's previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. Sempra's payout ratio is 58.37%.

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.