Sustainable Insight Capital Management LLC Purchases Shares of 4,496 Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Sustainable Insight Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Sempra (NYSE:SRE) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 4,496 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $376,000.

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

Sempra Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE SRE opened at $91.25 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $83.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $79.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $57.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.10, a PEG ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.75. 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.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.06 by ($0.17). The firm had revenue of $2.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.54 billion. Sempra had a return on equity of 8.01% and a net margin of 22.63%. Sempra’s quarterly revenue was down 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.08 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Sempra will post 4.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Sempra Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

SRE has been the subject of several recent research reports. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Sempra from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Sempra from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Sempra in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $94.00 target price for the company. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Sempra from $93.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Sempra from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. One investment 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.