Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Shares Sold by Thrivent Financial for Lutherans

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lessened its position in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 29,664 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 665 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Sempra were worth $2,256,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of SRE. GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new position in shares of Sempra during the first quarter worth $815,000. Magnetar Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sempra during the 1st quarter worth about $2,293,000. Forsta AP Fonden increased its holdings in shares of Sempra by 13.7% in the 1st quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 117,200 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $8,418,000 after acquiring an additional 14,100 shares during the last quarter. Perpetual Ltd raised its position in shares of Sempra by 4.8% during the 1st quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 2,891,026 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $207,662,000 after acquiring an additional 133,119 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its stake in Sempra by 249.9% during the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 155,854 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $11,195,000 after purchasing an additional 111,314 shares during the last quarter. 89.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sempra Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of SRE stock opened at $83.93 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $52.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a current ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84. The business’s 50 day moving average is $81.23 and its two-hundred day moving average is $76.57. Sempra has a twelve month low of $63.75 and a twelve month high of $84.47.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.92 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $3.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.46 billion. Sempra had a net margin of 22.31% and a return on equity of 8.58%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.94 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Sempra will post 4.79 EPS for the current year.

Sempra Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 26th will be given a $0.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 26th. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.95%. Sempra’s payout ratio is currently 54.99%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on SRE shares. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Sempra from $90.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Sempra from $87.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Bank of America started coverage on shares of Sempra in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $94.00 price objective for the company. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Sempra from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Sempra from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Sempra presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $85.58.

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.