State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Reduces Holdings in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D cut its stake in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 37.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 220,207 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 129,746 shares during the quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in Sempra were worth $16,749,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Sempra in the 4th quarter worth approximately $958,253,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in Sempra by 12.1% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 27,123,899 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,026,969,000 after buying an additional 2,917,668 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in Sempra by 5,279.4% in the 1st quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,583,816 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $113,591,000 after buying an additional 1,554,374 shares during the period. M&G Plc purchased a new stake in Sempra in the 1st quarter worth approximately $64,994,000. Finally, Zimmer Partners LP lifted its holdings in Sempra by 96.9% in the 1st quarter. Zimmer Partners LP now owns 1,636,202 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $117,528,000 after buying an additional 805,084 shares during the period. 89.65% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sempra

In other Sempra news, CAO Peter R. Wall sold 6,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.07, for a total transaction of $457,927.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 14,751 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,107,357.57. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Sempra Stock Performance

SRE stock opened at $82.97 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $52.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.75. Sempra has a 1 year low of $63.75 and a 1 year high of $84.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.46 and a quick ratio of 0.41. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $79.69 and its 200-day moving average price is $75.44.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.92 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $3.01 billion for 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%. Sempra’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.94 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Sempra will post 4.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Sempra Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 26th will be issued a dividend of $0.62 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 26th. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.99%. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio is presently 54.93%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Barclays increased their price objective on Sempra from $81.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. Evercore ISI increased 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. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH decreased their target price on Sempra from $81.50 to $79.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 29th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Sempra from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Bank of America began coverage on Sempra in a research report on Thursday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $94.00 target price for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Sempra presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $85.00.

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.