Bank of Montreal Can Boosts Holdings in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Bank of Montreal Can increased its position in Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 38.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,420,045 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 393,277 shares during the quarter. Bank of Montreal Can’s holdings in Sempra were worth $118,219,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Eastern Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Sempra during the third quarter worth about $28,000. Family Firm Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Sempra in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Hollencrest Capital Management boosted its stake in shares of Sempra by 250.0% during the 3rd quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 378 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 270 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sempra during the second quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Financial Connections Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Sempra in the second quarter valued at $34,000. 89.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on SRE shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Sempra from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Bank of America assumed coverage on Sempra in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $94.00 price target for the company. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Sempra in a report on Thursday, October 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $98.00 price objective for the company. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Sempra from $93.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Sempra from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $89.00.

Sempra Stock Performance

Shares of Sempra stock opened at $93.28 on Wednesday. Sempra has a 12 month low of $66.40 and a 12 month high of $95.77. The company has a quick ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The stock has a market cap of $59.08 billion, a PE ratio of 20.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.75. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $86.07 and a 200-day simple moving average of $80.97.

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

Sempra Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Trevor I. Mihalik sold 23,713 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.09, for a total transaction of $2,207,443.17. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 11,190 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,041,677.10. This trade represents a 67.94 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.27% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.