Prospera Financial Services Inc Grows Stake in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Prospera Financial Services Inc grew its holdings in Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 14.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 34,455 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 4,401 shares during the quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc’s holdings in Sempra were worth $2,881,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of SRE. Edgestream Partners L.P. lifted its holdings in Sempra by 263.1% in the 1st quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 11,623 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $835,000 after buying an additional 8,422 shares during the period. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Sempra by 11.9% in the 1st quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 29,857 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,145,000 after buying an additional 3,165 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Sempra by 8.3% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 9,034 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $649,000 after buying an additional 690 shares during the period. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC lifted its holdings in Sempra by 26.5% in the 1st quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 3,874 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $281,000 after buying an additional 811 shares during the period. Finally, Pitcairn Co. lifted its holdings in Sempra by 20.5% in the 1st quarter. Pitcairn Co. now owns 3,537 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $254,000 after buying an additional 601 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Sempra Stock Down 0.3 %

Sempra stock opened at $93.12 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $58.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.51, a PEG ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.75. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $85.18 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $80.39. Sempra has a 12 month low of $66.40 and a 12 month high of $93.90. The company has a current ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.05 by ($0.16). The firm had revenue of $2.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.54 billion. Sempra had a return on equity of 8.06% and a net margin of 22.63%. The business’s revenue was down 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.08 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Sempra will post 4.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 5th will be given a dividend of $0.62 per share. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.66%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 5th. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.63%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Trevor I. Mihalik sold 23,713 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 11,190 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,041,677.10. This trade represents a 67.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on SRE. Bank of America began coverage on Sempra in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $94.00 target price for the company. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Sempra in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $98.00 target price for the company. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Sempra from $93.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Morgan Stanley raised 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Sempra from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $89.00.

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.