Yousif Capital Management LLC Sells 9,938 Shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Yousif Capital Management LLC lowered its position in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 10.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 88,521 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 9,938 shares during the quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC's holdings in Sempra were worth $6,317,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new position in shares of Sempra during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,880,000. Apollon Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Sempra by 6.4% during the 4th quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,582 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,016,000 after buying an additional 699 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB lifted its stake in Sempra by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 4,753 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $417,000 after buying an additional 205 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Sempra by 9.9% in the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 11,812 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,036,000 after buying an additional 1,068 shares during the period. Finally, Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC increased its position in shares of Sempra by 61.9% during the fourth quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 19,568 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,717,000 after acquiring an additional 7,481 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.65% of the company's stock.

Sempra Stock Performance

NYSE SRE traded up $0.14 on Thursday, hitting $76.12. 2,698,194 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,786,363. The company has a market capitalization of $49.62 billion, a PE ratio of 16.77, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.52 and a quick ratio of 0.47. The business's fifty day moving average is $74.07 and its 200 day moving average is $78.72. Sempra has a 52 week low of $61.90 and a 52 week high of $95.77.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The utilities provider reported $1.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.32 by $0.12. Sempra had a net margin of 22.63% and a return on equity of 8.06%. The company had revenue of $3.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.90 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.34 EPS. Sempra's quarterly revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Sempra will post 4.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 26th will be issued a dividend of $0.645 per share. This represents a $2.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.39%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 26th. Sempra's payout ratio is presently 56.70%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SRE has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Guggenheim reduced their target price on shares of Sempra from $95.00 to $87.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Sempra from $93.00 to $70.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Barclays lowered Sempra from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and dropped their target price for the company from $95.00 to $72.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Sempra from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Sempra from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $80.75.

Insider Activity at Sempra

In other news, insider Diana L. Day sold 8,015 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.26, for a total transaction of $595,193.90. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 16,969 shares in the company, valued at $1,260,117.94. The trade was a 32.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Pablo Ferrero bought 2,600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $70.96 per share, for a total transaction of $184,496.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 15,649 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,110,453.04. The trade was a 19.92% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.27% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.