Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Position Reduced by Cinctive Capital Management LP

Cinctive Capital Management LP lessened its holdings in Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 3.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 183,086 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 7,222 shares during the period. Sempra comprises approximately 0.8% of Cinctive Capital Management LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. Cinctive Capital Management LP’s holdings in Sempra were worth $16,060,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of SRE. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Sempra in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,535,000,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Sempra by 11.9% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 38,407,154 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,369,076,000 after purchasing an additional 4,082,261 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its position in Sempra by 4.9% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 32,940,620 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,774,974,000 after buying an additional 1,539,026 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Sempra in the fourth quarter valued at $123,614,000. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new stake in Sempra during the 4th quarter worth about $43,956,000. 89.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Sempra Price Performance

SRE stock opened at $71.57 on Wednesday. Sempra has a 1 year low of $64.89 and a 1 year high of $95.77. The stock has a market cap of $46.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.76, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.52 and a quick ratio of 0.47. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $76.65 and a 200 day simple moving average of $82.99.

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

Sempra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 20th will be given a dividend of $0.645 per share. This is a positive change from Sempra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 20th. This represents a $2.58 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.60%. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio is presently 58.37%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on SRE. Argus cut Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and set a $77.00 price objective (down previously from $96.00) on shares of Sempra in a report on Monday, March 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $99.00 to $76.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Mizuho lowered their price objective on shares of Sempra from $92.00 to $76.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Guggenheim reduced their target price on Sempra from $95.00 to $87.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Sempra presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $81.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Pablo Ferrero bought 2,600 shares of Sempra stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $70.96 per share, for a total transaction of $184,496.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 15,649 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,110,453.04. This represents a 19.92 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Michael N. Mears acquired 1,000 shares of Sempra stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $67.70 per share, with a total value of $67,700.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 5,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $338,500. This trade represents a 25.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders acquired 9,319 shares of company stock valued at $651,676 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

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.