Toronto Dominion Bank Buys 82,306 Shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Toronto Dominion Bank lifted its stake in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 41.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 279,944 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 82,306 shares during the quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank’s holdings in Sempra were worth $23,412,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Perennial Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Sempra by 2.8% in the second quarter. Perennial Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,963 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $377,000 after buying an additional 134 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC lifted its holdings in Sempra by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 8,742 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $731,000 after buying an additional 139 shares during the period. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Sempra by 4.0% in the second quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,794 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $289,000 after buying an additional 147 shares during the period. Lester Murray Antman dba SimplyRich raised its position in shares of Sempra by 1.2% during the second quarter. Lester Murray Antman dba SimplyRich now owns 12,558 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $955,000 after acquiring an additional 152 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Conning Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Sempra by 3.8% in the second quarter. Conning Inc. now owns 4,184 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $318,000 after acquiring an additional 154 shares during the period. 89.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Sempra Stock Up 0.6 %

Sempra stock opened at $87.93 on Friday. Sempra has a twelve month low of $66.40 and a twelve month high of $95.77. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $87.84 and a 200-day moving average price of $82.02. The company has a market capitalization of $55.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a quick ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.05 by ($0.16). The business had revenue of $2.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.54 billion. Sempra had a return on equity of 8.06% and a net margin of 22.63%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.08 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Sempra will post 4.76 EPS for the current year.

Sempra Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 5th will be issued a $0.62 dividend. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 5th. Sempra’s payout ratio is 54.63%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on SRE shares. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Sempra in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. They set a “buy” rating and a $98.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Sempra from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Sempra from $93.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Bank of America initiated coverage on Sempra in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $94.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on Sempra from $89.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $90.30.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sempra

In other news, VP Trevor I. Mihalik sold 23,713 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were 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 trade represents a 67.94 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

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.