Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Stock Position Decreased by Harbor Investment Advisory LLC

Harbor Investment Advisory LLC cut its position in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 37.7% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 296 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 179 shares during the period. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC’s holdings in Sempra were worth $26,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of Sempra by 9.1% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 18,978,605 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,587,181,000 after acquiring an additional 1,582,653 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Sempra by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 32,940,620 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,774,974,000 after acquiring an additional 1,539,026 shares in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of Sempra by 6.9% in the 2nd quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 13,452,912 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,023,228,000 after acquiring an additional 874,133 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI raised its stake in shares of Sempra by 201.2% in the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 620,394 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $51,882,000 after acquiring an additional 414,406 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Unigestion Holding SA bought a new position in shares of Sempra in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $33,023,000. 89.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sempra Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SRE opened at $82.86 on Thursday. Sempra has a 1-year low of $66.40 and a 1-year high of $95.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $52.48 billion, a PE ratio of 18.25, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.78. The business’s 50 day moving average is $88.25 and its 200-day moving average is $84.06. 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) 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 firm had revenue of $2.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.54 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.08 EPS. Sempra’s revenue for the quarter was down 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict 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 was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 5th were paid a $0.62 dividend. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.99%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 5th. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio is 54.63%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on SRE. Morgan Stanley raised Sempra from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $85.00 to $98.00 in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Sempra from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Sempra from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Barclays lifted their price target on Sempra from $89.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Sempra from $93.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Sempra presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $91.60.

Insider Activity at Sempra

In related news, VP Trevor I. Mihalik sold 23,713 shares of the business’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 sale, the vice president now owns 11,190 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,041,677.10. The trade was a 67.94 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.27% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Sempra 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.