Neuberger Berman Group LLC Trims Position in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Neuberger Berman Group LLC trimmed its stake in Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 15.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,239,475 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 751,632 shares during the period. Neuberger Berman Group LLC’s holdings in Sempra were worth $371,846,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of SRE. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new position in Sempra during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in Sempra during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Sempra during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Sempra during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, TCTC Holdings LLC grew its position in Sempra by 265.2% during the fourth quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 336 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 244 shares during the last quarter. 89.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on SRE shares. UBS Group cut shares of Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $95.00 to $78.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Sempra from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on shares of Sempra from $92.00 to $78.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Sempra from $93.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Mizuho cut their target price on shares of Sempra from $92.00 to $76.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Sempra has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $80.46.

Insider Activity

In other Sempra news, Director Cynthia J. Warner acquired 700 shares of Sempra stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $70.65 per share, for a total transaction of $49,455.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 8,759 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $618,823.35. This represents a 8.69 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jeffrey W. Martin sold 49,737 shares of Sempra stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.94, for a total value of $4,125,186.78. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $165.88. The trade was a 100.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders purchased 9,319 shares of company stock worth $651,676 and sold 57,309 shares worth $4,694,019. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Sempra Stock Performance

Shares of Sempra stock opened at $68.01 on Thursday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $44.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.98, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.65. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $74.17 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $82.09. Sempra has a 12 month low of $61.90 and a 12 month high of $95.77.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $1.50 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $3.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.73 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.13 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Sempra will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.645 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 20th. This is an increase from Sempra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. This represents a $2.58 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.79%. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 58.37%.

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.