Quantinno Capital Management LP Boosts Stock Holdings in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Quantinno Capital Management LP lifted its stake in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 38.2% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 30,593 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,456 shares during the period. Quantinno Capital Management LP’s holdings in Sempra were worth $2,559,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of SRE. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of Sempra by 9.1% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 18,978,605 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,587,181,000 after acquiring an additional 1,582,653 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its holdings in Sempra by 6.9% in the second quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 13,452,912 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,023,228,000 after buying an additional 874,133 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can increased its holdings in Sempra by 38.3% in the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,420,045 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $118,219,000 after buying an additional 393,277 shares during the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. increased its holdings in Sempra by 27.3% in the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 1,622,786 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $135,714,000 after buying an additional 347,625 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI purchased a new position in Sempra in the second quarter valued at $23,056,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Sempra Price Performance

Shares of SRE opened at $88.55 on Wednesday. Sempra has a fifty-two week low of $66.40 and a fifty-two week high of $95.77. The company has a market capitalization of $56.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.77. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $87.67 and a 200-day simple moving average of $81.89. 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 announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.05 by ($0.16). Sempra had a return on equity of 8.06% and a net margin of 22.63%. The business had revenue of $2.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.54 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.08 EPS. Sempra’s quarterly revenue was down 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Sempra will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Sempra Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 5th will be given a $0.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.80%. Sempra’s payout ratio is currently 54.63%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on SRE. Bank of America began coverage on Sempra in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $94.00 target price on the stock. Barclays increased their target price on Sempra from $89.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Sempra in a report on Thursday, October 24th. They set a “buy” rating and a $98.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Sempra from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Sempra from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Sempra has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $89.91.

Insider Activity at Sempra

In related 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 $1,041,677.10. This trade represents a 67.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.27% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Sempra Company 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.