Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Raises Stock Position in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 1.4% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 3,625,473 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 48,512 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Sempra were worth $303,198,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Magnetar Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Sempra in the first quarter worth about $2,293,000. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd boosted its holdings in Sempra by 319.5% in the 2nd quarter. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd now owns 196,954 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $14,980,000 after acquiring an additional 150,000 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its position in Sempra by 10.0% in the second quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 135,621 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $10,315,000 after acquiring an additional 12,346 shares in the last quarter. TCW Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Sempra by 28.2% during the second quarter. TCW Group Inc. now owns 67,765 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,154,000 after purchasing an additional 14,890 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Coppell Advisory Solutions Corp. purchased a new position in shares of Sempra in the first quarter valued at $621,000. 89.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on SRE shares. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Sempra from $93.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Sempra from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Sempra from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Barclays raised their target price on Sempra from $87.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Sempra in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. They set a “buy” rating and a $98.00 price target for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Sempra currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $89.00.

Sempra Stock Performance

Shares of SRE opened at $94.27 on Friday. Sempra has a 52-week low of $66.40 and a 52-week high of $95.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $59.71 billion, a PE ratio of 20.76, a P/E/G ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.75. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $85.66 and a 200 day moving average price of $80.64. 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 (NYSE:SRE) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.05 by ($0.16). Sempra had a net margin of 22.63% and a return on equity of 8.06%. The firm had revenue of $2.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.54 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.08 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate 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. Shareholders 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 dividend yield of 2.63%. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.63%.

Insider Activity

In other Sempra news, VP Trevor I. Mihalik sold 23,713 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.09, for a total transaction of $2,207,443.17. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 11,190 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,041,677.10. The trade was a 67.94 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

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.