Kentucky Retirement Systems Has $3.43 Million Stake in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Kentucky Retirement Systems trimmed its stake in Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 5.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 47,793 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 2,560 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Sempra were worth $3,433,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sempra in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Sempra by 195.1% in the 4th quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 419 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 277 shares during the period. Financial Connections Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Sempra in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Planned Solutions Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Sempra in the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Rational Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sempra in the 1st quarter valued at about $43,000. 89.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SRE has been the subject of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Sempra from $79.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 8th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on shares of Sempra from $86.00 to $84.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Sempra from $79.00 to $76.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Sempra from $79.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH dropped their price target on shares of Sempra from $81.50 to $79.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Sempra has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $82.10.

Insider Activity at Sempra

In other news, Director Richard J. Mark acquired 1,925 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 17th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $77.97 per share, for a total transaction of $150,092.25. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 5,420 shares in the company, valued at $422,597.40. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Sempra news, CAO Peter R. Wall sold 6,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.07, for a total transaction of $457,927.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 14,751 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,107,357.57. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Richard J. Mark bought 1,925 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 17th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $77.97 per share, for a total transaction of $150,092.25. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 5,420 shares in the company, valued at $422,597.40. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Sempra Stock Performance

Shares of Sempra stock traded up $0.48 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $78.55. 2,530,372 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,746,121. Sempra has a 12 month low of $63.75 and a 12 month high of $80.54. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $76.25 and a 200 day simple moving average of $73.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 0.62. The company has a market capitalization of $49.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.74.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.35 by ($0.01). Sempra had a return on equity of 8.95% and a net margin of 20.99%. The firm had revenue of $3.64 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.58 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.46 EPS. Sempra’s quarterly revenue was down 44.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Sempra will post 4.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 27th were paid a $0.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 27th. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.16%. Sempra’s payout ratio is 54.93%.

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.