Trevor I. Mihalik Sells 23,713 Shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Stock

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) VP Trevor I. Mihalik sold 23,713 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.09, for a total transaction of $2,207,443.17. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 11,190 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,041,677.10. This trade represents a 67.94 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

Sempra Stock Performance

Sempra stock traded down $0.26 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $93.12. The stock had a trading volume of 2,289,183 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,898,519. Sempra has a 12 month low of $66.40 and a 12 month high of $93.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $58.98 billion, a PE ratio of 20.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a quick ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $84.94 and its 200 day moving average price is $80.30.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.05 by ($0.16). The company had revenue of $2.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.08 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Sempra will post 4.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.62 per share. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.66%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 5th. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.63%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sempra during the 3rd quarter valued at $246,000. Unigestion Holding SA purchased a new stake in Sempra in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,023,000. TCW Group Inc. increased its holdings in Sempra by 24.4% in the 3rd quarter. TCW Group Inc. now owns 84,301 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $7,050,000 after acquiring an additional 16,536 shares in the last quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC increased its holdings in Sempra by 23.7% in the 3rd quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 16,864 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,410,000 after acquiring an additional 3,226 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fortem Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in Sempra by 37.8% in the 3rd quarter. Fortem Financial Group LLC now owns 4,853 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $406,000 after purchasing an additional 1,330 shares during the period. 89.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on SRE. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Sempra from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Sempra in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. They set a “buy” rating and a $98.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays raised their price target 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. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Sempra in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $94.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Sempra from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently 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.