Empirical Finance LLC Raises Stock Position in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Empirical Finance LLC lifted its position in Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 2.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 21,519 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 467 shares during the period. Empirical Finance LLC’s holdings in Sempra were worth $1,800,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Perennial Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Sempra by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter. Perennial Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,963 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $377,000 after acquiring an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Sempra by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC now owns 4,983 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $379,000 after buying an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Marcum Wealth LLC grew its stake in Sempra by 3.5% in the 2nd quarter. Marcum Wealth LLC now owns 4,019 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $306,000 after acquiring an additional 137 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC increased its holdings in Sempra by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 8,742 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $731,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Sempra by 4.0% during the second quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,794 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $289,000 after acquiring an additional 147 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Sempra Stock Performance

NYSE SRE opened at $92.19 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $84.52 and a 200-day simple moving average of $79.91. Sempra has a twelve month low of $66.40 and a twelve month high of $93.12. The company has a current ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The stock has a market cap of $58.39 billion, a PE ratio of 20.31, a P/E/G ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.75.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by ($0.16). The company had revenue of $2.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.54 billion. Sempra had a net margin of 22.63% and a return on equity of 8.06%. Sempra’s revenue was down 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.08 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Sempra will post 4.77 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. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 5th will be paid a $0.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.69%. Sempra’s payout ratio is presently 54.63%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Sempra from $93.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Sempra from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Sempra from $87.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Sempra from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Sempra from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $89.00.

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.