Gulf International Bank UK Ltd Decreases Position in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Gulf International Bank UK Ltd lessened its holdings in Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 49,825 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 2,445 shares during the period. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd’s holdings in Sempra were worth $4,166,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Greenwood Capital Associates LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sempra in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,164,000. PDS Planning Inc raised its holdings in shares of Sempra by 33.6% in the 3rd quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 3,519 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $294,000 after purchasing an additional 885 shares in the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Sempra by 11.2% in the 3rd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,871 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $491,000 after purchasing an additional 589 shares in the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. raised its stake in Sempra by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 304,821 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $25,492,000 after acquiring an additional 8,069 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service raised its stake in Sempra by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 1,520,432 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $127,154,000 after acquiring an additional 92,465 shares in the last quarter. 89.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Sempra Stock Performance

Shares of SRE opened at $82.22 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84. The stock has a market cap of $52.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.57, a PEG ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a 50-day moving average of $83.12 and a two-hundred day moving average of $78.93. Sempra has a 12-month low of $66.40 and a 12-month high of $86.57.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.92 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $3.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.46 billion. Sempra had a return on equity of 8.58% and a net margin of 22.31%. The business’s revenue was down 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.94 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Sempra will post 4.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 26th were given a $0.62 dividend. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.02%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 26th. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio is presently 52.99%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on SRE. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Sempra from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Sempra from $87.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Sempra in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. They set a “buy” rating and a $98.00 price objective on the stock. Bank of America started coverage on shares of Sempra in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $94.00 target price on the stock. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Sempra from $93.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. One equities 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $87.55.

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.