National Pension Service Increases Holdings in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

National Pension Service grew its holdings in Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 3.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,374,697 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 39,928 shares during the period. National Pension Service’s holdings in Sempra were worth $102,731,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Sempra by 101.8% in 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 acquiring an additional 31,334,782 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of Sempra by 101.4% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 24,206,231 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,646,750,000 after acquiring an additional 12,184,568 shares in the last quarter. Newport Trust Company LLC lifted its position in shares of Sempra by 104.0% in the third quarter. Newport Trust Company LLC now owns 14,416,527 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $980,756,000 after acquiring an additional 7,348,746 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of Sempra by 147.0% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 14,360,225 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $976,926,000 after acquiring an additional 8,546,205 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Sempra by 109.0% in the third quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 12,154,272 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $826,855,000 after acquiring an additional 6,338,545 shares in the last quarter. 89.65% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sempra Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:SRE traded up $0.23 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $75.46. 1,093,418 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,952,303. Sempra has a 1 year low of $63.75 and a 1 year high of $78.70. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $70.74 and a 200-day moving average price of $71.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.54 and a quick ratio of 0.49.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.35 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $3.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.58 billion. Sempra had a net margin of 18.26% and a return on equity of 9.45%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 44.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.46 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Sempra will post 4.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 21st were issued a $0.62 dividend. This is a positive change from Sempra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 20th. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.29%. Sempra’s payout ratio is presently 51.77%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on SRE. Barclays lifted their target price on Sempra from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Sempra from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 21st. BMO Capital Markets raised Sempra from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $76.00 to $84.00 in a report on Thursday, January 11th. StockNews.com cut Sempra from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $82.00 target price on shares of Sempra in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $82.23.

Insider Activity at Sempra

In related news, insider Diana L. Day sold 3,937 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.21, for a total value of $280,353.77. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 18,145 shares in the company, valued at $1,292,105.45. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Sempra news, VP Trevor I. Mihalik sold 57,571 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.59, for a total transaction of $4,063,936.89. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 10,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $770,983.98. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Diana L. Day sold 3,937 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.21, for a total value of $280,353.77. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 18,145 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,292,105.45. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 122,432 shares of company stock worth $8,668,035. Company insiders own 0.27% 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.