Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Sees Significant Decline in Short Interest

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) saw a large decrease in short interest in the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 6,890,000 shares, a decrease of 24.0% from the February 28th total of 9,060,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 5,280,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.3 days. Currently, 1.1% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Sempra Stock Up 0.3 %

Sempra stock traded up $0.21 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $71.57. The stock had a trading volume of 5,648,354 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,588,756. The company has a market capitalization of $46.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.76, a PEG 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. Sempra has a one year low of $64.89 and a one year high of $95.77. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $76.65 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $82.99.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.73 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.13 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Sempra will post 4.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 20th will be paid a $0.645 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 20th. This represents a $2.58 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.60%. This is a boost from Sempra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. Sempra’s payout ratio is currently 58.37%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Sempra from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Guggenheim reduced their price target on shares of Sempra from $95.00 to $87.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Sempra from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on Sempra from $92.00 to $78.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $77.00 target price (down previously from $96.00) on shares of Sempra in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $81.33.

Insider Activity at Sempra

In other news, Director Cynthia J. Warner acquired 700 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $70.65 per share, with a total value of $49,455.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 8,759 shares in the company, valued at approximately $618,823.35. The trade was a 8.69 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jeffrey W. Martin sold 49,737 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.94, for a total value of $4,125,186.78. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2 shares in the company, valued at $165.88. The trade was a 100.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders purchased 9,319 shares of company stock worth $651,676 in the last ninety days. 0.24% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Sempra by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 63,018,055 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,527,944,000 after buying an additional 490,269 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of Sempra by 11.9% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 38,407,154 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,369,076,000 after acquiring an additional 4,082,261 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Sempra by 4.9% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 32,940,620 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,774,974,000 after purchasing an additional 1,539,026 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its position in Sempra by 8.0% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 20,489,918 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,797,376,000 after purchasing an additional 1,511,313 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Sempra in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,535,000,000. 89.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.