Janus Henderson Group PLC Trims Stock Position in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Janus Henderson Group PLC trimmed its position in Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 20.2% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 2,610,647 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 662,028 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC’s holdings in Sempra were worth $187,514,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Sempra during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Sempra by 195.1% in the fourth quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 419 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 277 shares during the period. Financial Connections Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Sempra in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Planned Solutions Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Sempra during the 4th quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Rational Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sempra during the 1st quarter worth about $43,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on SRE shares. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price 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 lowered their price objective on shares of Sempra from $79.00 to $76.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, June 24th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH dropped their target price on shares of Sempra from $81.50 to $79.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 29th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Sempra from $79.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 8th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price objective on Sempra from $79.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $82.10.

Sempra Stock Up 1.2 %

SRE traded up $0.96 on Tuesday, hitting $80.22. 2,043,065 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,983,388. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $76.28 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $73.26. The company has a current ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. Sempra has a twelve month low of $63.75 and a twelve month high of $80.54. The company has a market cap of $50.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.74.

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

Sempra Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 27th were issued a $0.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 27th. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.09%. Sempra’s payout ratio is 54.93%.

Insider Transactions at Sempra

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

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.