Victory Capital Management Inc. Sells 97,863 Shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Victory Capital Management Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 15.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 542,194 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 97,863 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned about 0.09% of Sempra worth $45,344,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Eastern Bank bought a new stake in shares of Sempra during the third quarter worth approximately $28,000. Hollencrest Capital Management boosted its stake in Sempra by 250.0% in the 3rd quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 378 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 270 shares during the period. Family Firm Inc. bought a new stake in Sempra in the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Sempra in the 2nd quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Financial Connections Group Inc. bought a new position in Sempra during the 2nd quarter worth $34,000. Institutional investors own 89.65% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SRE has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Sempra from $87.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Sempra from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Sempra in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $94.00 price target for the company. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Sempra in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. They set a "buy" rating and a $98.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Sempra from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Sempra currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $89.00.

Sempra Price Performance

NYSE SRE traded up $1.75 on Friday, hitting $92.19. 3,050,146 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,903,094. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $84.52 and a 200-day moving average of $79.91. The stock has a market cap of $58.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.31, a P/E/G ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.75. Sempra has a 52 week low of $66.40 and a 52 week high of $93.12. 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 (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 8.06% and a net margin of 22.63%. 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 prior year, the company earned $1.08 earnings per share. Sempra's quarterly revenue was down 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Sempra will post 4.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Sempra Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 5th will be paid a $0.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.69%. Sempra's payout ratio is currently 54.63%.

About Sempra

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.