Assetmark Inc. Purchases 12,966 Shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Assetmark Inc. grew its position in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 423,940 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 12,966 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc.’s holdings in Sempra were worth $35,454,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Perennial Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Sempra by 2.8% during the second quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC now owns 4,983 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $379,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Marcum Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of Sempra by 3.5% during the second quarter. Marcum Wealth LLC now owns 4,019 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $306,000 after acquiring an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Sempra by 1.6% during the third quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 8,742 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $731,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Sempra by 4.0% during the second quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,794 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $289,000 after buying an additional 147 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Sempra Stock Up 1.7 %

SRE stock opened at $91.25 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $83.60 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $79.21. The company has a current ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. Sempra has a 1-year low of $66.40 and a 1-year high of $91.88. The stock has a market cap of $57.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.10, a P/E/G ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.75.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by ($0.17). Sempra had a net margin of 22.63% and a return on equity of 8.01%. The firm had revenue of $2.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.54 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.08 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Sempra will post 4.77 EPS for the current year.

Sempra Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 5th will be given a dividend of $0.62 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.72%. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio is presently 54.63%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on SRE shares. Bank of America started coverage on Sempra in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $94.00 price target for the company. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Sempra from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Sempra in a report on Thursday, October 24th. They set a “buy” rating and a $98.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Sempra from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on Sempra from $87.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $89.00.

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.