Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Shares Sold by Mizuho Securities USA LLC

Mizuho Securities USA LLC cut its stake in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 15.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 41,056 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 7,735 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities USA LLC’s holdings in Sempra were worth $3,434,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of Sempra by 6.9% during the second quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 13,452,912 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,023,228,000 after purchasing an additional 874,133 shares during the period. Zimmer Partners LP increased its stake in Sempra by 96.9% during the 1st quarter. Zimmer Partners LP now owns 1,636,202 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $117,528,000 after buying an additional 805,084 shares during the period. Swedbank AB purchased a new stake in Sempra during the 1st quarter worth $27,338,000. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI acquired a new position in Sempra in the 2nd quarter worth $23,056,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in Sempra by 19.7% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,757,553 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $133,679,000 after buying an additional 289,731 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Trevor I. Mihalik sold 23,713 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.09, for a total transaction of $2,207,443.17. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 11,190 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,041,677.10. This represents a 67.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Sempra Stock Down 0.4 %

SRE stock opened at $94.27 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $59.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.76, a PEG ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.75. Sempra has a 1-year low of $66.40 and a 1-year high of $95.29. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $85.66 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $80.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.52 and a quick ratio of 0.47.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.05 by ($0.16). The business had revenue of $2.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.54 billion. Sempra had a net margin of 22.63% and a return on equity of 8.06%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.08 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Sempra will post 4.77 EPS 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 given a dividend of $0.62 per share. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.63%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 5th. Sempra’s payout ratio is 54.63%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on SRE shares. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Sempra from $93.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Bank of America started coverage on Sempra in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $94.00 price objective on the stock. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Sempra from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Sempra from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of Sempra from $87.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. One investment 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $89.00.

Sempra Company 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.