Toronto Dominion Bank Purchases 82,306 Shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Toronto Dominion Bank boosted its position in Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 41.6% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 279,944 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 82,306 shares during the period. Toronto Dominion Bank’s holdings in Sempra were worth $23,412,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in SRE. Eastern Bank bought a new stake in shares of Sempra during the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. Hollencrest Capital Management raised its holdings in Sempra by 250.0% in the third 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. Family Firm Inc. purchased a new position in Sempra in the second quarter worth about $30,000. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Sempra in the second quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, LRI Investments LLC raised its holdings in Sempra by 180.4% in the third quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 443 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 285 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Sempra Price Performance

NYSE:SRE opened at $87.93 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $87.84 and a 200-day moving average price of $82.02. Sempra has a 1-year low of $66.40 and a 1-year high of $95.77. The firm has a market cap of $55.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.52 and a quick ratio of 0.47.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.05 by ($0.16). The business had revenue of $2.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.54 billion. Sempra had a return on equity of 8.06% and a net margin of 22.63%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.08 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Sempra will post 4.76 EPS for the current year.

Sempra Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 5th will be issued a $0.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.82%. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 54.63%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on SRE. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Sempra from $89.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Sempra in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $94.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Sempra from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Sempra from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Sempra from $93.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $90.30.

Insider Activity at Sempra

In related news, VP Trevor I. Mihalik sold 23,713 shares of the business’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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 11,190 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,041,677.10. The trade was a 67.94 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.