Assetmark Inc. Acquires 12,966 Shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Assetmark Inc. raised its holdings in Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 3.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 423,940 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 12,966 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. owned about 0.07% of Sempra worth $35,454,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC grew its position in Sempra by 60.3% in the third quarter. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC now owns 10,653 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $891,000 after acquiring an additional 4,009 shares during the last quarter. SpiderRock Advisors LLC grew its position in Sempra by 4.8% in the third quarter. SpiderRock Advisors LLC now owns 10,253 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $857,000 after acquiring an additional 472 shares during the last quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management grew its position 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 acquiring an additional 270 shares during the last quarter. Summit Global Investments bought a new position in Sempra in the third quarter valued at about $2,684,000. Finally, TFB Advisors LLC bought a new position in Sempra in the third quarter valued at about $221,000. Institutional investors own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Sempra Price Performance

Shares of SRE opened at $91.25 on Friday. Sempra has a 52-week low of $66.40 and a 52-week high of $91.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 0.52. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $83.60 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $79.21. The firm has a market cap of $57.77 billion, a PE ratio of 20.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.82 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 (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.06 by ($0.17). Sempra had a net margin of 22.63% and a return on equity of 8.01%. The business had revenue of $2.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.54 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.08 earnings per share. Sempra’s quarterly revenue was down 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Sempra will post 4.77 EPS for the current year.

Sempra Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 5th will be paid a $0.62 dividend. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.72%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 5th. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.63%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on SRE shares. Barclays lifted their price target on Sempra from $87.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Morgan Stanley lifted 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. BMO Capital Markets lifted 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. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Sempra from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Sempra from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $89.00.

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.