SCP Investment LP Takes Position in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

SCP Investment LP bought a new position in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 6,800 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $596,000. Sempra accounts for approximately 0.5% of SCP Investment LP’s holdings, making the stock its 25th largest holding.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Sempra by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 63,018,055 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,527,944,000 after purchasing an additional 490,269 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of Sempra by 0.4% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 34,324,893 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,870,591,000 after buying an additional 128,847 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Sempra by 4.9% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 32,940,620 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,774,974,000 after buying an additional 1,539,026 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Sempra in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,535,000,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Sempra by 1.2% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 12,761,872 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,063,007,000 after acquiring an additional 145,873 shares during the last quarter. 89.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Cynthia J. Warner bought 700 shares of the 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 completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 8,759 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $618,823.35. This trade represents a 8.69 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 2,755 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.93, for a total transaction of $225,717.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 13,905 shares in the company, valued at $1,139,236.65. The trade was a 16.54 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have purchased a total of 9,319 shares of company stock worth $651,676 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays downgraded shares of Sempra from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $95.00 to $72.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Sempra from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Guggenheim decreased their price target on Sempra from $95.00 to $87.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on Sempra from $92.00 to $78.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $99.00 to $76.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Sempra currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $81.33.

Sempra Stock Down 0.6 %

SRE opened at $69.65 on Friday. Sempra has a 12 month low of $64.89 and a 12 month high of $95.77. The company has a market cap of $45.37 billion, a PE ratio of 15.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a current ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The company has a 50 day moving average of $77.23 and a 200 day moving average of $83.13.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.47 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $3.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.73 billion. Sempra had a return on equity of 8.06% and a net margin of 22.63%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.13 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Sempra will post 4.76 EPS for the current year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.645 per share. This represents a $2.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.70%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 20th. This is a positive change from Sempra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. Sempra’s payout ratio is presently 58.37%.

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.