Synovus Financial Corp Boosts Holdings in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Synovus Financial Corp lifted its stake in Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 5.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,846 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 383 shares during the quarter. Synovus Financial Corp’s holdings in Sempra were worth $573,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of SRE. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in shares of Sempra by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 15,111 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,149,000 after purchasing an additional 397 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Sempra by 237.4% in the 2nd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 2,578 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $196,000 after purchasing an additional 1,814 shares during the last quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Sempra by 4.0% in the 2nd quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,794 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $289,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its position in shares of Sempra by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 46,353 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,526,000 after purchasing an additional 1,035 shares during the last quarter. Finally, My Legacy Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Sempra in the 2nd quarter worth about $781,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Sempra

In related news, VP Trevor I. Mihalik sold 23,713 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 11,190 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,041,677.10. The trade was a 67.94 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Sempra Trading Down 1.9 %

Sempra stock opened at $86.95 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $88.33 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $82.42. The company has a market cap of $55.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.77. Sempra has a 52-week low of $66.40 and a 52-week high of $95.77. 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 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). The firm had revenue of $2.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.54 billion. Sempra had a net margin of 22.63% and a return on equity of 8.06%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.08 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Sempra will post 4.76 EPS for the current year.

Sempra Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.62 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.85%. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.63%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley raised Sempra from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $85.00 to $98.00 in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Sempra from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Sempra from $93.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Barclays boosted their target price on Sempra from $89.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. Finally, Bank of America assumed coverage on Sempra in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $94.00 target price for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Sempra presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.