Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Shares Acquired by Centaurus Financial Inc.

Centaurus Financial Inc. raised its holdings in Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 20.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 9,520 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,624 shares during the period. Centaurus Financial Inc.’s holdings in Sempra were worth $796,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Eastern Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Sempra during the third quarter worth about $28,000. Family Firm Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Sempra in the second quarter valued at $30,000. Hollencrest Capital Management increased its stake in 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 stake in Sempra in the 2nd quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Financial Connections Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Sempra in the 2nd quarter valued at about $34,000. 89.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Sempra from $87.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Sempra from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Bank of America started coverage on shares of Sempra in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $94.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Sempra from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Sempra in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. They set a “buy” rating and a $98.00 price objective on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $89.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Trevor I. Mihalik sold 23,713 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.09, for a total value of $2,207,443.17. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 11,190 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,041,677.10. This represents a 67.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Sempra Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SRE opened at $94.75 on Tuesday. Sempra has a 1 year low of $66.40 and a 1 year high of $95.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a current ratio of 0.52. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $85.88 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $80.86. The firm has a market cap of $60.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.87, a PEG ratio of 2.59 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 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $2.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.54 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.08 earnings per share. Sempra’s revenue was down 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Sempra will post 4.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 5th will be given a $0.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.62%. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.63%.

Sempra 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.