Sentry Investment Management LLC Lowers Holdings in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Sentry Investment Management LLC decreased its stake in Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 9.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,296 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 354 shares during the quarter. Sentry Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Sempra were worth $246,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of SRE. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Sempra by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 1,141,824 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $191,963,000 after purchasing an additional 6,246 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Sempra by 780.0% in the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 1,804 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $302,000 after purchasing an additional 1,599 shares during the period. Cibc World Market Inc. acquired a new position in Sempra in the 1st quarter worth about $782,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Sempra by 3.6% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 668,646 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $112,411,000 after purchasing an additional 23,431 shares during the period. Finally, Vontobel Holding Ltd. raised its holdings in Sempra by 77.4% in the 1st quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 13,575 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,276,000 after purchasing an additional 5,924 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Diana L. Day sold 3,937 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.21, for a total value of $280,353.77. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 18,145 shares in the company, valued at $1,292,105.45. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Diana L. Day sold 3,937 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.21, for a total value of $280,353.77. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 18,145 shares in the company, valued at $1,292,105.45. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jeffrey W. Martin sold 50,703 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.92, for a total value of $3,595,856.76. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2 shares in the company, valued at $141.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 156,622 shares of company stock worth $11,089,713. Corporate insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Sempra Trading Down 2.5 %

SRE opened at $66.41 on Wednesday. Sempra has a 52 week low of $63.75 and a 52 week high of $79.51. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $70.46 and a 200-day simple moving average of $71.53. The firm has a market cap of $41.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.86, a P/E/G ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a quick ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.11 by $0.02. Sempra had a return on equity of 9.45% and a net margin of 18.26%. The business had revenue of $3.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.01 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.17 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Sempra will post 4.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 21st were paid a $0.62 dividend. This is a boost from Sempra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 20th. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.77%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Mizuho reduced their price target on Sempra from $83.00 to $79.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Sempra from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 21st. Barclays increased their target price on Sempra from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH started coverage on Sempra in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $81.50 price target for the company. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $82.00 price target on shares of Sempra in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $82.14.

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.