Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Shares Purchased by Brooklyn Investment Group

Brooklyn Investment Group boosted its stake in Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 18.2% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 3,609 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 555 shares during the quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group’s holdings in Sempra were worth $302,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of SRE. Eastern Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Sempra in the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. Family Firm Inc. purchased a new position in Sempra during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Hollencrest Capital Management increased its position in Sempra by 250.0% during the third quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 378 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 270 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Sempra in the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Financial Connections Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Sempra in the second quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Sempra Stock Performance

NYSE SRE opened at $93.28 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $86.07 and a 200 day moving average price of $80.97. The company has a market capitalization of $59.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.55, a PEG ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.75. 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.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.54 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.08 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Sempra will post 4.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Transactions at Sempra

In other Sempra news, VP Trevor I. Mihalik sold 23,713 shares of the 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 sale, the vice president now owns 11,190 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,041,677.10. This represents a 67.94 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on SRE shares. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Sempra from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Sempra from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Sempra in a report on Thursday, October 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $98.00 target price on the stock. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Sempra from $93.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Sempra from $87.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Sempra has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.