Stablepoint Partners LLC Increases Holdings in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Stablepoint Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 5.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 16,526 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 908 shares during the period. Stablepoint Partners LLC’s holdings in Sempra were worth $1,382,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of Sempra by 6.9% during the 2nd quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 13,452,912 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,023,228,000 after acquiring an additional 874,133 shares during the period. Perpetual Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Sempra by 4.8% during the 1st quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 2,891,026 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $207,662,000 after acquiring an additional 133,119 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale grew its holdings in shares of Sempra by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 2,404,573 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $182,158,000 after acquiring an additional 48,592 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Sempra by 19.7% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,757,553 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $133,679,000 after acquiring an additional 289,731 shares during the period. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its holdings in shares of Sempra by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,659,618 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $126,246,000 after acquiring an additional 26,862 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Bank of America initiated coverage on Sempra in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $94.00 target price on the stock. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Sempra from $90.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Barclays upped their price target on Sempra from $87.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Sempra from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Sempra from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $86.20.

Sempra Stock Up 0.3 %

SRE traded up $0.28 during trading on Monday, hitting $82.44. 38,837 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,829,796. The stock has a market capitalization of $51.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.22, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.75. Sempra has a 12-month low of $66.40 and a 12-month high of $84.47. The company has a current ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $81.59 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $77.24.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $3.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.46 billion. Sempra had a return on equity of 8.58% and a net margin of 22.31%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.94 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Sempra will post 4.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 26th will be paid a $0.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 26th. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.01%. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 54.99%.

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.