Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Shares Acquired by PDS Planning Inc

PDS Planning Inc lifted its stake in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 33.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,519 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 885 shares during the period. PDS Planning Inc’s holdings in Sempra were worth $294,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new stake in Sempra during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $815,000. Magnetar Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Sempra in the first quarter valued at $2,293,000. Forsta AP Fonden grew its position in Sempra by 13.7% during the 1st quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 117,200 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $8,418,000 after purchasing an additional 14,100 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its position in Sempra by 249.9% during the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 155,854 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $11,195,000 after purchasing an additional 111,314 shares during the period. Finally, Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd raised its stake in shares of Sempra by 319.5% during the 2nd quarter. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd now owns 196,954 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $14,980,000 after buying an additional 150,000 shares during the last quarter. 89.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on SRE shares. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Sempra from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Sempra from $87.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Sempra from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Bank of America began coverage on Sempra in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $94.00 price target for the company. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Sempra in a report on Thursday, October 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $98.00 price objective on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $87.55.

Sempra Price Performance

NYSE:SRE opened at $80.81 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $83.11 and a 200 day moving average price of $78.85. The stock has a market cap of $51.16 billion, a PE ratio of 17.27, a P/E/G ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 0.46. Sempra has a one year low of $66.40 and a one year high of $86.57.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.92 by ($0.03). Sempra had a net margin of 22.31% and a return on equity of 8.58%. The firm had revenue of $3.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.46 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.94 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Sempra will post 4.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 26th were issued a dividend of $0.62 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 26th. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.07%. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio is currently 52.99%.

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.