157,515 Shares in Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Bought by ING Groep NV

ING Groep NV purchased a new position in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 157,515 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $13,173,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in shares of Sempra by 24.9% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 9,896 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $711,000 after acquiring an additional 1,970 shares in the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in Sempra by 8.6% in the first quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 10,510 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $755,000 after purchasing an additional 832 shares during the last quarter. Wintrust Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of Sempra by 8.5% during the first quarter. Wintrust Investments LLC now owns 23,987 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,723,000 after buying an additional 1,880 shares during the last quarter. Banco Santander S.A. purchased a new position in shares of Sempra in the first quarter worth about $648,000. Finally, M&G Plc bought a new stake in shares of Sempra in the 1st quarter valued at about $64,994,000. 89.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Sempra Trading Down 1.9 %

SRE opened at $90.44 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. Sempra has a 52 week low of $66.40 and a 52 week high of $93.12. The stock has a market cap of $57.28 billion, a PE ratio of 19.92, a PEG ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.75. The business has a 50 day moving average of $84.17 and a 200-day moving average of $79.69.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.05 by ($0.16). The firm had revenue of $2.78 billion for 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%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.08 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Sempra will post 4.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 paid a dividend of $0.62 per share. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 5th. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio is 54.63%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on SRE. Barclays lifted their price target on Sempra from $87.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Sempra from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Sempra from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Sempra from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Sempra from $93.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. 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, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.