Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD. Acquires New Holdings in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD. bought a new position in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE) in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 5,350 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $447,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Brookstone Capital Management increased its holdings in Sempra by 7.8% during the 1st quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 3,038 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $218,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its position in Sempra by 12.8% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 123,275 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $8,855,000 after buying an additional 13,986 shares during the last quarter. Vicus Capital bought a new position in shares of Sempra during the 1st quarter worth approximately $301,000. Iams Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Sempra by 10.2% in the first quarter. Iams Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,552 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $534,000 after purchasing an additional 699 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. boosted its holdings in Sempra by 0.8% during the first quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 1,530,330 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $109,924,000 after purchasing an additional 12,197 shares during the last quarter. 89.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Sempra Price Performance

SRE stock traded up $0.85 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $85.23. 246,946 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,848,997. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.46 and a quick ratio of 0.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $53.71 billion, a PE ratio of 18.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.75. Sempra has a 52 week low of $66.40 and a 52 week high of $86.57. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $82.90 and a 200 day moving average price of $78.22.

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

Sempra Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 26th were paid a $0.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 26th. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.91%. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio is 54.99%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SRE has been the topic of several analyst reports. 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. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Sempra from $93.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Sempra in a research note on Thursday. They set a “buy” rating and a $98.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays lifted their target price on Sempra from $87.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their target price on Sempra from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Sempra presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $87.55.

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.