Procyon Advisors LLC Raises Holdings in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Procyon Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 5.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 59,982 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 3,163 shares during the period. Procyon Advisors LLC's holdings in Sempra were worth $5,262,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in SRE. FMR LLC grew its holdings in shares of Sempra by 9.1% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 18,978,605 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,587,181,000 after purchasing an additional 1,582,653 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Sempra by 4.9% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 32,940,620 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,774,974,000 after buying an additional 1,539,026 shares during the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of Sempra by 6.9% in the second quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 13,452,912 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,023,228,000 after buying an additional 874,133 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI increased its holdings in shares of Sempra by 201.2% in the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 620,394 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $51,882,000 after buying an additional 414,406 shares during the period. Finally, Unigestion Holding SA purchased a new stake in Sempra during the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,023,000. 89.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sempra Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE:SRE traded up $1.25 during trading on Friday, hitting $85.24. The stock had a trading volume of 3,627,955 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,950,581. The company has a market capitalization of $53.99 billion, a PE ratio of 18.77, a PEG ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a quick ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The firm's fifty day moving average is $88.50 and its 200 day moving average is $83.80. Sempra has a 12 month low of $66.40 and a 12 month high of $95.77.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.05 by ($0.16). The firm had revenue of $2.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 last year, the company posted $1.08 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Sempra will post 4.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 5th were issued a $0.62 dividend. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 5th. Sempra's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.63%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. Barclays lifted their price target on Sempra from $89.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Sempra from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $85.00 to $98.00 in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Sempra from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Sempra in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $98.00 price objective on the stock. 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 report on Monday, October 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $91.60.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sempra

In other Sempra news, VP Trevor I. Mihalik sold 23,713 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on 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 directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.27% 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.