Carrera Capital Advisors Takes Position in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Carrera Capital Advisors acquired a new position in Sempra (NYSE:SRE) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 36,655 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,088,000. Sempra makes up about 0.8% of Carrera Capital Advisors’ holdings, making the stock its 21st largest holding.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its position in Sempra by 6.9% during the second quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 13,452,912 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,023,228,000 after buying an additional 874,133 shares in the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale boosted its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 48,592 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in Sempra by 19.7% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,757,553 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $133,679,000 after purchasing an additional 289,731 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its position in Sempra by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,659,618 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $126,246,000 after purchasing an additional 26,862 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zimmer Partners LP raised its stake in Sempra by 96.9% in the 1st quarter. Zimmer Partners LP now owns 1,636,202 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $117,528,000 after purchasing an additional 805,084 shares during the last quarter. 89.65% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sempra Trading Up 0.1 %

NYSE:SRE traded up $0.12 on Tuesday, hitting $92.24. 381,320 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,883,207. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $83.80 and a 200-day moving average of $79.46. The stock has a market cap of $58.42 billion, a PE ratio of 20.29, a PEG ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a current ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. Sempra has a fifty-two week low of $66.40 and a fifty-two week high of $92.66.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by ($0.16). Sempra had a return on equity of 8.06% and a net margin of 22.63%. The business had revenue of $2.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.54 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.08 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Sempra will post 4.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 5th. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio is presently 54.63%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SRE has been the topic of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Sempra from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Bank of America started 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. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Sempra from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Sempra from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Sempra in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $98.00 price objective for the company. One research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Sempra currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $89.00.

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.