Kentucky Retirement Systems Cuts Stock Position in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Kentucky Retirement Systems lessened its holdings in Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 7.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 44,108 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 3,581 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Sempra were worth $3,689,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in SRE. Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its position in Sempra by 6.9% during the second quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 13,452,912 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,023,228,000 after buying an additional 874,133 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale grew its position in shares of Sempra by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 2,404,573 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $182,158,000 after acquiring an additional 48,592 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Sempra by 19.7% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,757,553 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $133,679,000 after acquiring an additional 289,731 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its stake in shares of Sempra by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,659,618 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $126,246,000 after purchasing an additional 26,862 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Zimmer Partners LP raised its holdings in shares of Sempra by 96.9% in the 1st quarter. Zimmer Partners LP now owns 1,636,202 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $117,528,000 after purchasing an additional 805,084 shares during the period. 89.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on SRE. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Sempra from $93.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Bank of America initiated coverage on Sempra in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $94.00 price target for the company. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Sempra in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $98.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Sempra from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted 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 analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Sempra has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $89.00.

Sempra Stock Performance

Sempra stock opened at $92.19 on Friday. Sempra has a 1-year low of $66.40 and a 1-year high of $93.12. 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 has a market capitalization of $58.39 billion, a PE ratio of 20.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.75. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $84.52 and its 200 day simple moving average is $79.96.

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

Sempra Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 5th will be given a $0.62 dividend. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 5th. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.