Redwood Investment Management LLC Decreases Position in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Redwood Investment Management LLC lowered its position in Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 93.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,725 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 51,992 shares during the period. Redwood Investment Management LLC's holdings in Sempra were worth $327,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of SRE. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Sempra in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,535,000,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in Sempra by 11.9% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 38,407,154 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,369,076,000 after purchasing an additional 4,082,261 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in Sempra by 70.6% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,666,240 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $584,763,000 after purchasing an additional 2,758,037 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its position in Sempra by 71.3% in the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 4,651,923 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $408,069,000 after purchasing an additional 1,936,865 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC boosted its position in Sempra by 8.0% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 20,489,918 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,797,376,000 after purchasing an additional 1,511,313 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.65% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Sempra from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $99.00 to $76.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Sempra from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. Barclays lowered 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. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Sempra from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on Sempra from $77.00 to $75.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $80.77.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sempra

In other news, Director Cynthia J. Warner acquired 700 shares of Sempra stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $70.65 per share, with a total value of $49,455.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 8,759 shares in the company, valued at $618,823.35. This trade represents a 8.69% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Michael N. Mears acquired 1,000 shares of Sempra stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $67.70 per share, with a total value of $67,700.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 5,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $338,500. The trade was a 25.00% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have purchased 9,319 shares of company stock worth $651,676. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Sempra Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of NYSE SRE traded down $0.29 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $78.14. 3,435,068 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,744,871. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.52 and a quick ratio of 0.47. Sempra has a twelve month low of $61.90 and a twelve month high of $95.77. The company has a market cap of $50.94 billion, a PE ratio of 17.21, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.63. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $71.71 and its 200-day simple moving average is $80.16.

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

Sempra Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 26th will be paid a $0.645 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 26th. This represents a $2.58 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.30%. Sempra's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 56.70%.

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.