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

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) was the target of a large drop in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 6,890,000 shares, a drop of 24.0% from the February 28th total of 9,060,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 5,280,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.3 days. Approximately 1.1% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SRE has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $99.00 to $76.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Sempra from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of Sempra from $92.00 to $78.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $77.00 price objective (down previously from $96.00) on shares of Sempra in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, UBS Group cut shares of Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $95.00 to $78.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $81.33.

Sempra Stock Performance

Shares of SRE stock opened at $71.57 on Wednesday. Sempra has a 12-month low of $64.89 and a 12-month high of $95.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.52 and a quick ratio of 0.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.76. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $76.65 and a 200 day simple moving average of $82.99.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.47 by $0.03. Sempra had a return on equity of 8.06% and a net margin of 22.63%. The company had revenue of $3.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.73 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.13 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Sempra will post 4.76 EPS for the current year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Sempra

In other Sempra news, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 2,755 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.93, for a total transaction of $225,717.15. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 13,905 shares in the company, valued at $1,139,236.65. This represents a 16.54 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Pablo Ferrero purchased 2,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $70.96 per share, with a total value of $184,496.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 15,649 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,110,453.04. This represents a 19.92 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last three months, insiders bought 9,319 shares of company stock valued at $651,676. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sempra

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new position in shares of Sempra in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Sempra during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Sempra in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Sempra in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, TCTC Holdings LLC increased its stake in shares of Sempra by 265.2% in the fourth quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 336 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 244 shares during the last quarter. 89.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.