Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Short Interest Up 24.0% in October

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) was the target of a large increase in short interest in the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 14,660,000 shares, an increase of 24.0% from the October 15th total of 11,820,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,640,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 5.6 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Sempra from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Sempra from $93.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Bank of America began coverage on Sempra in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $94.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Sempra from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on Sempra from $87.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Sempra has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $89.00.

Sempra Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE SRE traded up $0.77 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $91.21. The stock had a trading volume of 990,434 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,893,815. The firm has a market cap of $57.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a current ratio of 0.52. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $84.31 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $79.77. Sempra has a 1 year low of $66.40 and a 1 year high of $93.12.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.05 by ($0.16). Sempra had a net margin of 22.63% and a return on equity of 8.06%. The company had revenue of $2.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.54 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.08 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Sempra will post 4.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 5th will be paid a $0.62 dividend. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.72%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 5th. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.63%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sempra

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Magnetar Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Sempra during the 1st quarter valued at about $2,293,000. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Sempra by 319.5% in the second quarter. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd now owns 196,954 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $14,980,000 after buying an additional 150,000 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC grew its position in Sempra by 40.8% during the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 43,050 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,092,000 after buying an additional 12,468 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its position in Sempra by 10.0% during the second quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 135,621 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $10,315,000 after buying an additional 12,346 shares during the period. Finally, CreativeOne Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of Sempra by 171.6% during the 1st quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 10,477 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $753,000 after acquiring an additional 6,620 shares during the last quarter. 89.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.