Victory Capital Management Inc. Reduces Position in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Victory Capital Management Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 15.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 542,194 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 97,863 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Sempra were worth $45,344,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Sempra by 23.4% in the third quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 14,452 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,209,000 after buying an additional 2,745 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its holdings in Sempra by 2.1% in the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 1,445,967 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $120,926,000 after buying an additional 29,536 shares during the last quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Sempra by 6.6% in the third quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,883 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $910,000 after buying an additional 677 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in Sempra in the third quarter valued at about $86,000. Finally, State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D increased its holdings in Sempra by 1.2% in the third quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 222,947 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $18,645,000 after buying an additional 2,740 shares during the last quarter. 89.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sempra Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SRE opened at $92.19 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $84.31 and a 200-day simple moving average of $79.77. The company has a market cap of $58.39 billion, a PE ratio of 20.31, a P/E/G ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.75. Sempra has a 12-month low of $66.40 and a 12-month high of $93.12.

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

Sempra Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 5th will be given a dividend of $0.62 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.69%. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio is presently 54.63%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on SRE shares. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Sempra in a report on Thursday, October 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $98.00 price objective for the company. Evercore ISI boosted 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. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Sempra from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Sempra from $93.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Bank of America initiated coverage on Sempra in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $94.00 target price for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $89.00.

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.