MAI Capital Management Decreases Position in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

MAI Capital Management lessened its position in Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 34.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,276 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 2,832 shares during the period. MAI Capital Management’s holdings in Sempra were worth $441,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in SRE. Eastern Bank purchased a new stake in Sempra during the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Family Firm Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Sempra in the second quarter worth $30,000. Hollencrest Capital Management lifted its holdings in shares of Sempra by 250.0% during the third quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 378 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 270 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Sempra during the second quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Financial Connections Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Sempra during the second quarter valued at $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Sempra Price Performance

NYSE SRE opened at $94.27 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $59.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.76, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.75. Sempra has a 12 month low of $66.40 and a 12 month high of $95.29. The company’s 50 day moving average is $85.66 and its two-hundred day moving average is $80.64. The company has a current ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.05 by ($0.16). The firm had revenue of $2.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.54 billion. Sempra had a net margin of 22.63% and a return on equity of 8.06%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.08 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Sempra will post 4.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Sempra Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 5th will be given a dividend of $0.62 per share. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.63%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 5th. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.63%.

Insider Activity at Sempra

In other Sempra news, VP Trevor I. Mihalik sold 23,713 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.09, for a total transaction of $2,207,443.17. Following the completion of the sale, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SRE has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Sempra from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Sempra in a report on Thursday, October 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $98.00 target price on the stock. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Sempra from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Barclays raised 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. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Sempra from $93.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $89.00.

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.