Cinctive Capital Management LP Lowers Stock Position in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Cinctive Capital Management LP reduced its position in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 3.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 183,086 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 7,222 shares during the period. Sempra accounts for about 0.8% of Cinctive Capital Management LP’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. Cinctive Capital Management LP’s holdings in Sempra were worth $16,060,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in SRE. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Sempra in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,535,000,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in Sempra by 11.9% in the fourth 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 during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in Sempra by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 32,940,620 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,774,974,000 after purchasing an additional 1,539,026 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Sempra in the 4th quarter worth about $123,614,000. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new stake in Sempra during the fourth quarter worth about $43,956,000. 89.65% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Sempra

In other Sempra news, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 2,755 shares of Sempra stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.93, for a total value of $225,717.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 13,905 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,139,236.65. The trade was a 16.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Cynthia J. Warner bought 700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $70.65 per share, for a total transaction of $49,455.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 8,759 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $618,823.35. This represents a 8.69 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders purchased a total of 9,319 shares of company stock valued at $651,676 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on SRE. UBS Group downgraded shares of Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $95.00 to $78.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $77.00 price target (down from $96.00) on shares of Sempra in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of Sempra from $92.00 to $78.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target 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. Finally, Guggenheim reduced their target price on Sempra from $95.00 to $87.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $81.33.

Sempra Price Performance

Shares of Sempra stock opened at $71.57 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $76.65 and a 200 day moving average of $82.99. Sempra has a 52 week low of $64.89 and a 52 week high of $95.77. The company has a market cap of $46.62 billion, a PE ratio of 15.76, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a quick ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.47 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $3.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.73 billion. Sempra had a return on equity of 8.06% and a net margin of 22.63%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.13 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Sempra will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 20th will be paid a $0.645 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 20th. This represents a $2.58 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.60%. This is an increase from Sempra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio is presently 58.37%.

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.