Marshall Wace LLP Lowers Stock Holdings in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Marshall Wace LLP lowered its position in Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 93.8% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,904 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 59,155 shares during the quarter. Marshall Wace LLP’s holdings in Sempra were worth $297,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Family Firm Inc. acquired a new position in Sempra in the second quarter valued at $30,000. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Sempra in the second quarter valued at $33,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Sempra during the second quarter worth about $34,000. SouthState Corp lifted its stake in shares of Sempra by 900.0% during the second quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 470 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 423 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sempra during the second quarter worth about $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Sempra Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of Sempra stock opened at $82.16 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $51.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.75. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $81.59 and a 200 day moving average price of $77.14. Sempra has a fifty-two week low of $66.40 and a fifty-two week high of $84.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.92 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $3.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.46 billion. Sempra had a net margin of 22.31% and a return on equity of 8.58%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.94 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Sempra will post 4.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 26th will be given a dividend of $0.62 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 26th. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.02%. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio is presently 54.99%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on SRE shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Sempra from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Barclays boosted their price target on Sempra from $87.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Sempra from $90.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Sempra from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Bank of America started coverage on Sempra in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $94.00 price target on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $86.20.

Sempra 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.