Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd Decreases Stock Holdings in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd lowered its stake in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 86.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 26,954 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 170,000 shares during the quarter. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd’s holdings in Sempra were worth $2,254,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Eastern Bank purchased a new position in shares of Sempra in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Hollencrest Capital Management grew its holdings in Sempra by 250.0% in the third quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 378 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 270 shares during the last quarter. Family Firm Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Sempra during the second quarter worth $30,000. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Sempra during the 2nd quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Financial Connections Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Sempra in the 2nd quarter worth $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Sempra Price Performance

NYSE:SRE opened at $94.28 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $86.30 and its two-hundred day moving average is $81.07. The firm has a market cap of $59.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.77, a PEG ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a current ratio of 0.52. Sempra has a one year low of $66.40 and a one year high of $95.77.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by ($0.16). The company had revenue of $2.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.08 EPS. Research analysts expect that Sempra will post 4.77 EPS for the current year.

Sempra Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.62 per share. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 5th. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 54.63%.

Insider Activity at Sempra

In other Sempra news, VP Trevor I. Mihalik sold 23,713 shares of Sempra stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.09, for a total value of $2,207,443.17. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 11,190 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,041,677.10. The trade was a 67.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SRE has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Sempra from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. 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 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Sempra from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Sempra from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of 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 assigned a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $89.00.

Sempra 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.