Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Shares Acquired by Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its holdings in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 265,005 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 12,779 shares during the quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in Sempra were worth $22,162,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of Sempra by 9.1% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 18,978,605 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,587,181,000 after acquiring an additional 1,582,653 shares during the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its holdings in Sempra by 6.9% in the second quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 13,452,912 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,023,228,000 after purchasing an additional 874,133 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can increased its position in Sempra by 38.3% during the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,420,045 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $118,219,000 after purchasing an additional 393,277 shares during the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. raised its stake in Sempra by 27.3% during the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 1,622,786 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $135,714,000 after purchasing an additional 347,625 shares during the period. Finally, Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI acquired a new position in shares of Sempra in the 2nd quarter valued at $23,056,000. 89.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Sempra Stock Performance

NYSE:SRE opened at $93.77 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $86.75 and a two-hundred day moving average of $81.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.52 and a quick ratio of 0.47. The stock has a market cap of $59.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.65, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.75. Sempra has a 1-year low of $66.40 and a 1-year high of $95.77.

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

Sempra Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 5th will be issued a $0.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.64%. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio is presently 54.63%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on SRE. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Sempra from $93.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Sempra from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Bank of America started coverage on Sempra in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $94.00 target price for the company. Barclays raised 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. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Sempra from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. 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.com, Sempra currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $89.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sempra

In other news, VP Trevor I. Mihalik sold 23,713 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.