King Luther Capital Management Corp Decreases Position in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

King Luther Capital Management Corp reduced its stake in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 23.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,784 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,132 shares during the quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp’s holdings in Sempra were worth $283,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Monetary Management Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Sempra by 100.0% in the third quarter. Monetary Management Group Inc. now owns 400 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Essex Investment Management Co. LLC increased its position in shares of Sempra by 100.0% in the third quarter. Essex Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 390 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 195 shares during the period. Wolverine Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Sempra by 100.0% during the third quarter. Wolverine Asset Management LLC now owns 400 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management raised its stake in shares of Sempra by 85.6% during the third quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 412 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sempra in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Institutional investors own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Sempra Stock Performance

Shares of SRE opened at $75.84 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $48.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.70. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $72.40 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $72.44. Sempra has a 12 month low of $63.75 and a 12 month high of $78.83. The company has a current ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.35 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $3.64 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.58 billion. Sempra had a return on equity of 8.95% and a net margin of 20.99%. Sempra’s quarterly revenue was down 44.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.46 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Sempra will post 4.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 27th will be given a $0.62 dividend. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 27th. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.93%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on SRE shares. Mizuho increased their price objective on Sempra from $79.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Sempra from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Sempra from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $82.00 price objective on shares of Sempra in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Sempra from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Sempra currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $82.86.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sempra

In other news, CEO Jeffrey W. Martin sold 50,703 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.92, for a total value of $3,595,856.76. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2 shares in the company, valued at approximately $141.84. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, VP Trevor I. Mihalik sold 57,571 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.59, for a total value of $4,063,936.89. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 10,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $770,983.98. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Jeffrey W. Martin sold 50,703 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.92, for a total value of $3,595,856.76. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $141.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 122,432 shares of company stock worth $8,668,035. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

About Sempra

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.