L & S Advisors Inc Reduces Position in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

L & S Advisors Inc lowered its position in Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 15.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 27,263 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 5,096 shares during the quarter. L & S Advisors Inc’s holdings in Sempra were worth $2,280,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Eastern Bank purchased a new stake in Sempra during the third quarter worth $28,000. Hollencrest Capital Management raised its stake in Sempra by 250.0% in the 3rd quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 378 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 270 shares during the last quarter. Family Firm Inc. acquired a new stake in Sempra during the 2nd quarter worth about $30,000. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Sempra during the 2nd quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Financial Connections Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Sempra during the 2nd quarter worth about $34,000. Institutional investors own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Sempra Price Performance

Shares of SRE opened at $93.12 on Thursday. Sempra has a 1-year low of $66.40 and a 1-year high of $93.90. The stock has a market cap of $58.98 billion, a PE ratio of 20.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.75. 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 firm has a fifty day moving average price of $85.18 and a 200 day moving average price of $80.39.

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

Sempra Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.62 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.66%. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.63%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SRE has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Evercore ISI raised their target price on Sempra from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Sempra in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $94.00 target price for the company. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Sempra in a report on Thursday, October 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $98.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Sempra from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Sempra from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $89.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other 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 value of $2,207,443.17. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 11,190 shares in the company, valued at $1,041,677.10. This represents a 67.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.24% of the stock is currently 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.