Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Shares Bought by Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd boosted its position in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 77,998 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,698 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s holdings in Sempra were worth $6,523,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SRE. Perennial Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Sempra by 2.8% in the second quarter. Perennial Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,963 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $377,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares during the period. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Sempra by 2.8% in the second quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC now owns 4,983 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $379,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the period. Marcum Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of Sempra by 3.5% in the second quarter. Marcum Wealth LLC now owns 4,019 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $306,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares during the period. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Sempra by 4.0% in the second quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,794 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $289,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares during the period. Finally, Lester Murray Antman dba SimplyRich grew its position in shares of Sempra by 1.2% in the second quarter. Lester Murray Antman dba SimplyRich now owns 12,558 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $955,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Sempra Price Performance

Sempra stock opened at $85.96 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $82.30 and its 200-day simple moving average is $77.66. The company has a market capitalization of $54.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.75. Sempra has a 1 year low of $66.40 and a 1 year high of $86.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 0.46.

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 company had revenue of $3.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.46 billion. Sempra had a net margin of 22.31% and a return on equity of 8.58%. Sempra’s revenue was down 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.94 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Sempra will post 4.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Sempra Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 26th were paid a dividend of $0.62 per share. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.89%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 26th. Sempra’s payout ratio 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.