Blankinship & Foster LLC Buys Shares of 16,000 Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Blankinship & Foster LLC bought a new stake in Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 16,000 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,338,000.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Perennial Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Sempra by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter. Perennial Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,963 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $377,000 after buying an additional 134 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC increased its stake in Sempra by 1.6% in the third quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 8,742 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $731,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares during the period. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Sempra by 4.0% in the second quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,794 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $289,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares in the last quarter. Lester Murray Antman dba SimplyRich lifted its stake in Sempra by 1.2% during the second quarter. Lester Murray Antman dba SimplyRich now owns 12,558 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $955,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares during the period. Finally, Conning Inc. boosted its holdings in Sempra by 3.8% during the second quarter. Conning Inc. now owns 4,184 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $318,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. 89.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Sempra Price Performance

Shares of Sempra stock traded up $0.52 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $87.93. The company had a trading volume of 4,031,384 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,933,202. 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 fifty day simple moving average of $87.84 and a 200 day simple moving average of $82.02. Sempra has a 1-year low of $66.40 and a 1-year high of $95.77. The company has a market capitalization of $55.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.77.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.05 by ($0.16). Sempra had a net margin of 22.63% and a return on equity of 8.06%. The firm had revenue of $2.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.54 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.08 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Sempra will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Sempra Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.62 per share. 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 is currently 54.63%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sempra

In related news, VP Trevor I. Mihalik sold 23,713 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.09, for a total transaction of $2,207,443.17. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 11,190 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,041,677.10. The trade was a 67.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SRE has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Sempra from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Sempra from $93.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Evercore ISI boosted their target price 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. Wells Fargo & Company upped 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, Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Sempra in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They set a "buy" rating and a $94.00 price target for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $89.91.

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.