Tidal Investments LLC Reduces Stake in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Tidal Investments LLC reduced its position in Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 19,687 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 528 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC’s holdings in Sempra were worth $1,646,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of SRE. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in Sempra by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 15,111 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,149,000 after purchasing an additional 397 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Sempra by 237.4% during the 2nd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 2,578 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $196,000 after buying an additional 1,814 shares during the last quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Sempra by 4.0% during the 2nd quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,794 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $289,000 after buying an additional 147 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its holdings in Sempra by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 46,353 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,526,000 after buying an additional 1,035 shares during the last quarter. Finally, My Legacy Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Sempra during the 2nd quarter valued at $781,000. 89.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sempra Price Performance

Shares of Sempra stock opened at $86.95 on Wednesday. Sempra has a twelve month low of $66.40 and a twelve month high of $95.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $55.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.15, a PEG ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.77. 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 business’s fifty day moving average price is $88.33 and its 200 day moving average price is $82.42.

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). Sempra had a net margin of 22.63% and a return on equity of 8.06%. The firm had revenue of $2.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.54 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.08 EPS. Sempra’s revenue was down 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Sempra will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Sempra Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 5th will be issued a $0.62 dividend. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 5th. Sempra’s payout ratio is currently 54.63%.

Insider Activity at Sempra

In other Sempra news, VP Trevor I. Mihalik sold 23,713 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.09, for a total value of $2,207,443.17. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 11,190 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 is available through this hyperlink. 0.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on SRE shares. Barclays increased their target price on Sempra from $89.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Sempra from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Sempra in a report on Thursday, October 24th. They set a “buy” rating and a $98.00 target price on the stock. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Sempra from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Bank of America began coverage on Sempra in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $94.00 price objective on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $91.60.

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.