Caprock Group LLC Takes $3.56 Million Position in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Caprock Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 42,236 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $3,559,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of SRE. Magnetar Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Sempra during the first quarter worth about $2,293,000. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd lifted its position in Sempra by 319.5% during the 2nd quarter. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd now owns 196,954 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $14,980,000 after buying an additional 150,000 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in Sempra by 10.0% during the 2nd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 135,621 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $10,315,000 after acquiring an additional 12,346 shares during the last quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Sempra by 171.6% during the 1st quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 10,477 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $753,000 after buying an additional 6,620 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TCW Group Inc. increased its position in Sempra by 28.2% in the second quarter. TCW Group Inc. now owns 67,765 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $5,154,000 after purchasing an additional 14,890 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.65% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Bank of America started coverage on shares of Sempra in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $94.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Sempra from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Sempra in a report on Thursday, October 24th. They set a "buy" rating and a $98.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Sempra from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Sempra from $93.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $89.00.

Sempra Price Performance

SRE traded down $0.26 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $93.12. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,289,183 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,898,519. The stock has a market cap of $58.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.75. The business's 50-day moving average price is $84.94 and its 200-day moving average price is $80.30. The company has a current ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. Sempra has a 12 month low of $66.40 and a 12 month high of $93.90.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.05 by ($0.16). Sempra had a return on equity of 8.06% and a net margin of 22.63%. The business had revenue of $2.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.54 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.08 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was down 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Sempra will post 4.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 5th will be given a $0.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.66%. Sempra's payout ratio is 54.63%.

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.