Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Shares Bought by Centaurus Financial Inc.

Centaurus Financial Inc. grew its holdings in Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 20.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,520 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,624 shares during the period. Centaurus Financial Inc.’s holdings in Sempra were worth $796,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of SRE. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Sempra by 36.2% in the 1st quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 13,766 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $945,000 after buying an additional 3,658 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its stake in Sempra by 1.4% during the first quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 1,040,345 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $74,728,000 after acquiring an additional 14,581 shares during the last quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions Corp. purchased a new stake in Sempra in the first quarter valued at $621,000. Beacon Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Sempra by 22.7% in the 1st quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC now owns 1,104 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $79,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LBP AM SA grew its holdings in shares of Sempra by 98.2% during the 1st quarter. LBP AM SA now owns 184,768 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $13,272,000 after purchasing an additional 91,563 shares during the period. 89.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sempra Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE SRE opened at $94.75 on Tuesday. 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 has a 52-week low of $66.40 and a 52-week high of $95.77. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $85.88 and a 200 day moving average price of $80.86. The stock has a market cap of $60.01 billion, a PE ratio of 20.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.75.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last posted 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 company had revenue of $2.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.54 billion. Sempra had a net margin of 22.63% and a return on equity of 8.06%. The firm’s revenue was down 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.08 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Sempra will post 4.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Sempra Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.62 per share. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.62%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 5th. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio is presently 54.63%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Trevor I. Mihalik sold 23,713 shares of the company’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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 11,190 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,041,677.10. This represents a 67.94 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Sempra in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $94.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Sempra from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Sempra in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $98.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Sempra from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Sempra from $93.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Sempra currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.