Fmr LLC Acquires 1,582,653 Shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Fmr LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 9.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 18,978,605 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,582,653 shares during the quarter. Fmr LLC owned approximately 3.00% of Sempra worth $1,587,181,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of SRE. Eastern Bank acquired a new position in Sempra during the third quarter worth approximately $28,000. Family Firm Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Sempra in the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Hollencrest Capital Management grew its position in shares of Sempra by 250.0% in the third quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 378 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 270 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sempra in the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Financial Connections Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Sempra in the second quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SRE has been the topic of several research reports. Barclays upped their target price on Sempra from $87.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Bank of America initiated coverage on Sempra in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $94.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Sempra from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. BMO Capital Markets boosted 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Sempra from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $89.00.

Insider Activity at Sempra

In related news, VP Trevor I. Mihalik sold 23,713 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.09, for a total value of $2,207,443.17. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 11,190 shares in the company, valued at $1,041,677.10. This represents a 67.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Sempra Stock Down 1.6 %

NYSE SRE opened at $93.28 on Wednesday. Sempra has a fifty-two week low of $66.40 and a fifty-two week high of $95.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $59.08 billion, a PE ratio of 20.55, a PEG ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.52 and a quick ratio of 0.47. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $86.07 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $80.97.

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

Sempra Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 5th will be issued a $0.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.66%. Sempra’s payout ratio is 54.63%.

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.