Covea Finance Cuts Stock Position in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Covea Finance cut its position in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 9.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 324,945 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 34,190 shares during the quarter. Sempra makes up about 1.3% of Covea Finance’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest position. Covea Finance owned 0.05% of Sempra worth $28,504,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Unigestion Holding SA purchased a new stake in shares of Sempra in the 3rd quarter valued at $33,023,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in Sempra by 8.8% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,428,132 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $286,695,000 after purchasing an additional 278,183 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its position in Sempra by 1.9% during the third quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 357,107 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,865,000 after buying an additional 6,709 shares during the period. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Sempra during the third quarter valued at about $675,000. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Sempra by 14.4% during the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 190,714 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $15,949,000 after buying an additional 23,970 shares during the last quarter. 89.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sempra Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of SRE opened at $78.12 on Wednesday. Sempra has a 1-year low of $66.40 and a 1-year high of $95.77. 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 firm’s 50-day moving average price is $88.85 and its 200-day moving average price is $83.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $49.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.21, a PEG ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.78.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by ($0.16). The firm had revenue of $2.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.54 billion. Sempra had a net margin of 22.63% and a return on equity of 8.06%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.08 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Sempra will post 4.76 EPS for the current year.

Sempra Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 5th will be given a $0.62 dividend. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.17%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 5th. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio is presently 54.63%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Sempra 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 value of $2,207,443.17. Following the sale, 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.24% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on SRE. Barclays increased their target price on Sempra from $89.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Sempra in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. They set a “buy” rating and a $98.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Sempra from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Sempra from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Sempra from $93.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $91.60.

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.