Interval Partners LP Invests $2.95 Million in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Interval Partners LP purchased a new position in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 38,765 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,948,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of Sempra by 12.1% during 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 acquiring an additional 2,917,668 shares in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its position in Sempra by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 12,578,779 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $903,534,000 after purchasing an additional 233,819 shares during the period. Perpetual Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Sempra by 4.8% in the first quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 2,891,026 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $207,662,000 after buying an additional 133,119 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. grew its stake in shares of Sempra by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,629,015 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $196,466,000 after purchasing an additional 116,297 shares during the period. Finally, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale grew its position in Sempra by 2.1% during the second quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 2,404,573 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $182,158,000 after buying an additional 48,592 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Sempra Stock Performance

Shares of Sempra stock opened at $84.06 on Tuesday. Sempra has a one year low of $63.75 and a one year high of $84.29. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $80.56 and a 200-day simple moving average of $76.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 0.46. The company has a market cap of $52.97 billion, a PE ratio of 18.64, a P/E/G ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.75.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.92 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $3.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.46 billion. Sempra had a net margin of 22.31% and a return on equity of 8.58%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.94 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Sempra will post 4.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 26th will be paid a dividend of $0.62 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 26th. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.95%. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.99%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on the company. Bank of America assumed coverage on Sempra in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $94.00 price objective on the stock. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Sempra from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Sempra from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH reduced 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. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Sempra from $90.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, September 12th. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $85.00.

About Sempra

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.