L & S Advisors Inc Acquires 2,939 Shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

L & S Advisors Inc lifted its stake in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 10.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 32,359 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,939 shares during the quarter. L & S Advisors Inc’s holdings in Sempra were worth $2,461,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Perennial Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Sempra by 2.8% during 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 increased its stake 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 worth $379,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Marcum Wealth LLC raised 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. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Sempra by 3.4% during the 1st quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC now owns 4,335 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $311,000 after buying an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. grew its stake in Sempra by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 38,190 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,854,000 after buying an additional 147 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Sempra Stock Performance

NYSE:SRE opened at $83.60 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $52.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.52, a PEG ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.75. The business has a 50 day moving average of $79.86 and a 200 day moving average of $75.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.46 and a quick ratio of 0.41. Sempra has a 1-year low of $63.75 and a 1-year high of $84.29.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.92 by ($0.03). Sempra had a return on equity of 8.58% and a net margin of 22.31%. The business had revenue of $3.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.46 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.94 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Sempra will post 4.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 26th will be paid a dividend of $0.62 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 26th. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.97%. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 54.93%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on SRE. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Sempra from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Bank of America started 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. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH cut their price objective on shares of Sempra from $81.50 to $79.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 29th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Sempra from $90.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price target 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Sempra has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $85.00.

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.