Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD. Takes $447,000 Position in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD. purchased a new stake in Sempra (NYSE:SRE) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 5,350 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $447,000.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Perennial Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Sempra by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter. Perennial Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,963 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $377,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in Sempra by 2.8% during the second quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC now owns 4,983 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $379,000 after buying an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. Marcum Wealth LLC grew its stake in Sempra by 3.5% during the second quarter. Marcum Wealth LLC now owns 4,019 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $306,000 after buying an additional 137 shares during 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 worth $731,000 after buying an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Sempra by 4.0% in the second quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,794 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $289,000 after acquiring an additional 147 shares during the last quarter. 89.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Sempra Trading Up 1.0 %

SRE traded up $0.85 during trading on Monday, reaching $85.23. 246,946 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,848,997. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $82.90 and its 200-day moving average price is $78.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 0.46. The firm 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 fifty-two week low of $66.40 and a fifty-two week high of $86.57.

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

Sempra Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 26th were issued a $0.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 26th. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.91%. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.99%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SRE has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays increased their price target on Sempra from $87.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Sempra from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Sempra in a research report on Thursday. They set a “buy” rating and a $98.00 price target on the stock. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Sempra from $93.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Sempra in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $94.00 target price for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $87.55.

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.