Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Shares Sold by Alaska Permanent Fund Corp

Alaska Permanent Fund Corp lessened its holdings in Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 5.7% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 21,375 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,299 shares during the period. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp’s holdings in Sempra were worth $1,597,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sempra during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. PrairieView Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Sempra by 100.0% during the third quarter. PrairieView Partners LLC now owns 376 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 188 shares during the period. Essex Investment Management Co. LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Sempra by 100.0% during the third quarter. Essex Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 390 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 195 shares during the period. Monetary Management Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Sempra by 100.0% during the third quarter. Monetary Management Group Inc. now owns 400 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. Finally, Wolverine Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Sempra by 100.0% during the third quarter. Wolverine Asset Management LLC now owns 400 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Sempra Price Performance

Shares of Sempra stock opened at $71.99 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $70.53 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $71.66. Sempra has a 52 week low of $63.75 and a 52 week high of $79.30. The stock has a market cap of $45.51 billion, a PE ratio of 15.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.71.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.11 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $3.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.01 billion. Sempra had a net margin of 18.26% and a return on equity of 9.45%. Sempra’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.17 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Sempra will post 4.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 21st were issued a dividend of $0.62 per share. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 20th. This is an increase from Sempra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. Sempra’s payout ratio is presently 51.77%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SRE has been the subject of several analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Sempra from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $76.00 to $84.00 in a report on Thursday, January 11th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH initiated coverage on shares of Sempra in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $81.50 price objective on the stock. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Sempra from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Sempra from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Sempra from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $82.14.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Sempra news, VP Trevor I. Mihalik sold 57,571 shares of Sempra stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.59, for a total transaction of $4,063,936.89. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 10,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $770,983.98. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Jeffrey W. Martin sold 50,703 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.92, for a total value of $3,595,856.76. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2 shares in the company, valued at approximately $141.84. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Trevor I. Mihalik sold 57,571 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.59, for a total value of $4,063,936.89. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 10,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $770,983.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 122,432 shares of company stock worth $8,668,035. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

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.