Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Short Interest Update

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest in the month of 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 trading volume, of 5,280,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.3 days. Currently, 1.1% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sempra

In related news, CEO Jeffrey W. Martin sold 49,737 shares of Sempra stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.94, for a total value of $4,125,186.78. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $165.88. This trade represents a 100.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Michael N. Mears bought 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $67.70 per share, with a total value of $67,700.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 5,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $338,500. The trade was a 25.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have bought a total of 9,319 shares of company stock valued at $651,676 in the last ninety days. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Sempra

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its position in shares of Sempra by 12.7% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 159,975 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $14,033,000 after buying an additional 17,974 shares during the period. Centaurus Financial Inc. grew its holdings in Sempra by 51.8% in the fourth quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 14,456 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,268,000 after purchasing an additional 4,936 shares during the period. Mattson Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in Sempra in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH increased its stake in Sempra by 26.5% in the fourth quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH now owns 8,670 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $761,000 after purchasing an additional 1,815 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Park Square Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sempra during the fourth quarter valued at about $41,000. Institutional investors own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Sempra Trading Down 0.6 %

NYSE SRE opened at $69.65 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.37 billion, a PE ratio of 15.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.76. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $77.23 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $83.15. 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 has a 12 month low of $64.89 and a 12 month high of $95.77.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $3.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.73 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.13 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Sempra will post 4.76 EPS for the current year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.645 per share. This represents a $2.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.70%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 20th. This is an increase from Sempra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 58.37%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Sempra from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. Barclays cut shares of Sempra from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $95.00 to $72.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and issued a $77.00 target price (down previously from $96.00) on shares of Sempra in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on shares of Sempra from $92.00 to $78.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $99.00 to $76.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Sempra currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $81.33.

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.