Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Position Lessened by Hennessy Advisors Inc.

Hennessy Advisors Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 3.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 298,580 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 11,800 shares during the quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Sempra were worth $21,447,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Sempra by 101.8% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 62,117,948 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,225,884,000 after buying an additional 31,334,782 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Sempra in the 4th quarter valued at about $958,253,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of Sempra by 101.4% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 24,206,231 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,646,750,000 after purchasing an additional 12,184,568 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley lifted its position in shares of Sempra by 101.2% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 10,334,173 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $703,034,000 after purchasing an additional 5,197,328 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG boosted its holdings in shares of Sempra by 84.1% during the third quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 9,987,355 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $679,440,000 after purchasing an additional 4,562,759 shares during the period. 89.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Peter R. Wall sold 6,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.07, for a total value of $457,927.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 14,751 shares in the company, valued at $1,107,357.57. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Sempra news, Director Richard J. Mark acquired 1,925 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 17th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $77.97 per share, for a total transaction of $150,092.25. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,420 shares in the company, valued at $422,597.40. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Peter R. Wall sold 6,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.07, for a total transaction of $457,927.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 14,751 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,107,357.57. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Sempra Price Performance

Shares of Sempra stock traded down $0.12 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $75.82. The company had a trading volume of 2,067,926 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,008,809. The company has a market capitalization of $47.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.74. Sempra has a 1-year low of $63.75 and a 1-year high of $78.83. The company has a current ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $74.95 and a 200 day simple moving average of $72.99.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.35 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $3.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.58 billion. Sempra had a net margin of 20.99% and a return on equity of 8.95%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 44.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.46 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Sempra will post 4.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Sempra Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 27th will be given a dividend of $0.62 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 27th. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.27%. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.93%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on SRE. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Sempra from $79.00 to $76.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $82.00 price objective on shares of Sempra in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Barclays boosted their target price on Sempra from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH cut their price target on Sempra from $81.50 to $79.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Sempra from $79.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $82.10.

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.