Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund Sells 1,666 Shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund lowered its holdings in Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 8.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 18,746 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,666 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund’s holdings in Sempra were worth $1,568,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Perennial Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Sempra by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter. Perennial Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,963 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $377,000 after acquiring an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in Sempra by 2.8% in the second quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC now owns 4,983 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $379,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Marcum Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Sempra by 3.5% during the 2nd quarter. Marcum Wealth LLC now owns 4,019 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $306,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares during the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Sempra by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 8,742 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $731,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Sempra by 4.0% in the 2nd quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,794 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $289,000 after buying an additional 147 shares during the last quarter. 89.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on SRE shares. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Sempra in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $94.00 target price on the stock. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Sempra from $93.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Sempra from $87.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Sempra from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Sempra from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. 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. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $89.00.

Sempra Price Performance

Sempra stock opened at $92.19 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $58.39 billion, a PE ratio of 20.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.75. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $84.52 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $79.96. Sempra has a one year low of $66.40 and a one year high of $93.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.52 and a quick ratio of 0.47.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 EPS 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 firm had revenue of $2.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.54 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.08 earnings per share. Sempra’s quarterly revenue was down 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Sempra will post 4.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders 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 yield of 2.69%. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.63%.

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.