Cypress Wealth Services LLC Makes New $210,000 Investment in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Cypress Wealth Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 2,509 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $210,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Family Firm Inc. purchased a new stake in Sempra during the 2nd quarter worth $30,000. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Sempra in the second quarter valued at about $33,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Sempra during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $34,000. SouthState Corp raised its holdings in shares of Sempra by 900.0% during the second quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 470 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 423 shares during the period. Finally, Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Sempra in the second quarter worth about $39,000. 89.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Sempra Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SRE opened at $81.33 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $51.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.75. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $81.59 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $77.03. Sempra has a one year low of $66.40 and a one year high of $84.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.46 and a quick ratio of 0.41.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.92 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $3.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.46 billion. Sempra had a return on equity of 8.58% and a net margin of 22.31%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.94 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Sempra will post 4.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 26th will be given a $0.62 dividend. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.05%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 26th. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio is currently 52.99%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SRE has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Bank of America began coverage on Sempra in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $94.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Sempra from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Sempra from $87.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Sempra from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Sempra from $90.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, September 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $86.20.

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.