Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in 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 currently 5.6 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sempra

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Perennial Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Sempra by 2.8% in the second 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 lifted its position in shares of Sempra by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC now owns 4,983 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $379,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. Marcum Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Sempra by 3.5% during the second quarter. Marcum Wealth LLC now owns 4,019 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $306,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC increased its holdings in Sempra by 1.6% in the third quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 8,742 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $731,000 after buying an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Sempra by 4.0% in the second 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 in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Sempra Trading Up 1.9 %

Shares of NYSE SRE traded up $1.75 during trading on Friday, reaching $92.19. The stock had a trading volume of 3,050,146 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,316,892. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $84.52 and its 200-day moving average price is $79.96. Sempra has a fifty-two week low of $66.40 and a fifty-two week high of $93.12. 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 company has a market cap of $58.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.31, a PEG ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.75.

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

Sempra Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SRE has been the subject of several research reports. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Sempra in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. They set a “buy” rating and a $98.00 price objective for the company. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Sempra from $93.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Sempra from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Sempra from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Sempra from $87.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.