W.G. Shaheen & Associates DBA Whitney & Co Cuts Stock Holdings in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

W.G. Shaheen & Associates DBA Whitney & Co lowered its stake in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 13.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,990 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 798 shares during the quarter. W.G. Shaheen & Associates DBA Whitney & Co’s holdings in Sempra were worth $417,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. TIAA Trust National Association raised its holdings in shares of Sempra by 14.0% in the first quarter. TIAA Trust National Association now owns 5,053 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $363,000 after purchasing an additional 621 shares during the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. lifted its position in shares of Sempra by 263.1% during the 1st quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 11,623 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $835,000 after buying an additional 8,422 shares in the last quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Sempra by 11.9% during the 1st quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 29,857 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,145,000 after buying an additional 3,165 shares in the last quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Sempra by 286.2% in the 1st quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 21,308 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,531,000 after buying an additional 15,790 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Sempra by 8.3% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 9,034 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $649,000 after acquiring an additional 690 shares in the last quarter. 89.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sempra Stock Up 0.8 %

Sempra stock opened at $92.92 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $84.72 and a 200 day simple moving average of $80.16. The company has a current ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. Sempra has a 1-year low of $66.40 and a 1-year high of $93.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $58.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.47, a P/E/G ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.75.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.05 by ($0.16). The company 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%. Sempra’s revenue for the quarter was down 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.08 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Sempra will post 4.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Sempra Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.67%. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 54.63%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on SRE. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Sempra from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Sempra in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $94.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Sempra from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Sempra from $87.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their target price 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average 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.