Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Shares Purchased by Benjamin Edwards Inc.

Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its holdings in Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 520.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 24,227 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 20,320 shares during the quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc.'s holdings in Sempra were worth $2,026,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Eastern Bank bought a new stake in Sempra during the third quarter valued at about $28,000. Family Firm Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Sempra during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Hollencrest Capital Management grew its stake in shares of Sempra by 250.0% in the 3rd quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 378 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 270 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sempra in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Financial Connections Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Sempra in the 2nd quarter worth about $34,000. 89.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on SRE. 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 report on Wednesday, September 25th. Bank of America assumed coverage on Sempra in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $94.00 price target for the company. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Sempra in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. They set a "buy" rating and a $98.00 price target on the stock. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Sempra from $93.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on Sempra from $89.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday. One research 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's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $89.91.

Sempra Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE SRE traded down $0.56 during trading on Thursday, hitting $90.94. 3,910,534 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,923,493. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $87.26 and a 200-day moving average price of $81.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a current ratio of 0.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $57.60 billion, a PE ratio of 20.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.77. Sempra has a 12-month low of $66.40 and a 12-month high of $95.77.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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). The business had revenue of $2.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.54 billion. Sempra had a return on equity of 8.06% and a net margin of 22.63%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.08 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Sempra will post 4.77 EPS 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 is Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.73%. Sempra's payout ratio is presently 54.63%.

Insider Activity at Sempra

In other Sempra news, VP Trevor I. Mihalik sold 23,713 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.09, for a total value of $2,207,443.17. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 11,190 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,041,677.10. This trade represents a 67.94 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

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.