Foundry Partners LLC Buys Shares of 216,805 Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Foundry Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 216,805 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $18,131,000. Sempra makes up 0.9% of Foundry Partners LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest position.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Eastern Bank bought a new stake in shares of Sempra during the third quarter worth $28,000. Family Firm Inc. bought a new position in Sempra during the 2nd quarter worth about $30,000. Hollencrest Capital Management raised 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 valued at $32,000 after purchasing 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 about $33,000. Finally, Financial Connections Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Sempra during the second quarter worth about $34,000. 89.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Sempra Stock Down 0.3 %

SRE opened at $93.12 on Thursday. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $85.18 and its 200 day simple moving average is $80.39. Sempra has a 1-year low of $66.40 and a 1-year high of $93.90. The stock has a market cap of $58.98 billion, a PE ratio of 20.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.75. 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 (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.05 by ($0.16). The company had revenue of $2.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.54 billion. Sempra had a net margin of 22.63% and a return on equity of 8.06%. Sempra's revenue for the quarter was down 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.08 earnings per share. 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.66%. Sempra's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.63%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Bank of America started coverage on Sempra in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $94.00 target price on the stock. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Sempra from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target 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. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Sempra from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on Sempra from $87.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Sempra presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $89.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Trevor I. Mihalik sold 23,713 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.09, for a total value of $2,207,443.17. Following the completion of the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

About Sempra

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.

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