Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Holdings Lifted by SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda

SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda increased its holdings in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 91.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 154,760 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 73,884 shares during the quarter. Sempra accounts for approximately 1.7% of SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda’s holdings, making the stock its 15th biggest position. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda’s holdings in Sempra were worth $12,943,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of SRE. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Sempra by 6.3% during the second quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 6,708 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $510,000 after buying an additional 399 shares in the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co acquired a new stake in Sempra during the second quarter valued at $428,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in Sempra by 10.0% during the second quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 135,621 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $10,315,000 after purchasing an additional 12,346 shares during the last quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. boosted its position in Sempra by 29.3% during the second quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 4,542 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $345,000 after purchasing an additional 1,029 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ORG Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Sempra during the second quarter valued at $180,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Sempra

In other Sempra news, VP Trevor I. Mihalik sold 23,713 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.09, for a total transaction of $2,207,443.17. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 11,190 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,041,677.10. This represents a 67.94 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.24% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Sempra Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SRE traded up $1.43 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $89.36. 383,583 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,922,258. Sempra has a 1-year low of $66.40 and a 1-year high of $95.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.52 and a quick ratio of 0.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $56.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.37, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.77. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $87.95 and its 200-day moving average price is $82.06.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last issued its quarterly 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). Sempra had a net margin of 22.63% and a return on equity of 8.06%. The firm had revenue of $2.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.54 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.08 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Sempra will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 5th will be paid a $0.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.78%. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.63%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on SRE shares. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Sempra in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. They set a “buy” rating and a $98.00 price objective for the company. Barclays lifted their price objective on Sempra from $89.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Sempra from $93.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Sempra from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised Sempra from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $85.00 to $98.00 in a research report on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $91.60.

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.