Pacer Advisors Inc. Reduces Stock Position in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Pacer Advisors Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 23.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 72,396 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 21,653 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Sempra were worth $6,351,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of SRE. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Sempra by 173.6% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 209,735 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $15,952,000 after purchasing an additional 133,085 shares during the period. Creative Planning raised its holdings in Sempra by 16.8% in the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 78,726 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,988,000 after purchasing an additional 11,303 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its position in Sempra by 5.6% during the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 27,684 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,106,000 after buying an additional 1,463 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Sempra by 3.6% during the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 18,146 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,380,000 after buying an additional 624 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers grew its position in shares of Sempra by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 117,597 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $8,944,000 after buying an additional 386 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Trevor I. Mihalik sold 23,713 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 11,190 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,041,677.10. This trade represents a 67.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Barclays reduced their price objective on Sempra from $99.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Sempra in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $98.00 price target for the company. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Sempra from $93.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Sempra from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Sempra from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Sempra currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $91.20.

Sempra Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of SRE opened at $82.09 on Thursday. Sempra has a 12-month low of $66.40 and a 12-month 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 company has a market capitalization of $51.99 billion, a PE ratio of 18.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.78. The business’s 50 day moving average is $87.28 and its 200 day moving average is $84.28.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by ($0.16). The company had revenue of $2.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.54 billion. Sempra had a return on equity of 8.06% and a net margin of 22.63%. Sempra’s revenue was down 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.08 EPS. Research analysts expect that Sempra will post 4.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 5th were issued a dividend of $0.62 per share. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.02%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 5th. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio is presently 54.63%.

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.