Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Stock Holdings Increased by Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 4,335,339 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 125,833 shares during the quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned 0.68% of Sempra worth $362,564,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of SRE. Eastern Bank acquired a new position in Sempra during the third quarter valued at $28,000. Family Firm Inc. bought a new position in Sempra during the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Hollencrest Capital Management lifted its stake 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. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Sempra in the second quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Financial Connections Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Sempra during the 2nd quarter worth $34,000. Institutional investors own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Sempra Price Performance

Shares of Sempra stock opened at $94.69 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $59.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.75. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $85.44 and its 200-day simple moving average is $80.49. Sempra has a twelve month low of $66.40 and a twelve month high of $94.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a current ratio of 0.52.

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

Sempra Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.62 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.62%. Sempra’s payout ratio is presently 54.63%.

Insider Activity

In other Sempra news, VP Trevor I. Mihalik sold 23,713 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.09, for a total value of $2,207,443.17. Following the completion of the sale, 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 legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SRE has been the topic of several analyst reports. 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 target price on the stock. Bank of America assumed coverage on Sempra in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $94.00 target price for the company. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Sempra from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Sempra from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Sempra from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Sempra has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $89.00.

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.