BNP Paribas Financial Markets Boosts Stake in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its position in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 881,364 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 13,077 shares during the quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets owned about 0.14% of Sempra worth $73,708,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Eastern Bank bought a new position in shares of Sempra during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Family Firm Inc. acquired a new position in Sempra during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Hollencrest Capital Management grew its stake in Sempra by 250.0% in the third quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 378 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 270 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sempra during the second quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Financial Connections Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Sempra in the 2nd quarter worth $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.65% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Sempra news, VP Trevor I. Mihalik sold 23,713 shares of the business's 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 11,190 shares of the company's stock, 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 can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.27% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Sempra Price Performance

NYSE:SRE traded up $0.99 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $94.28. The company had a trading volume of 2,871,827 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,916,150. The company has a market capitalization of $59.72 billion, a PE ratio of 20.77, a P/E/G ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.75. 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 $95.77. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $86.30 and its 200-day moving average price is $81.07.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.05 by ($0.16). The business had revenue of $2.78 billion during 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%. Sempra's revenue for the quarter was down 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.08 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect 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. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 5th will be issued 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 yield of 2.63%. Sempra's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 54.63%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Bank of America initiated coverage on Sempra in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They set a "buy" rating and a $94.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Sempra from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Sempra from $93.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Sempra from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus 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.