SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda Increases Holdings in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda grew its stake in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 91.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 154,760 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 73,884 shares during the quarter. Sempra accounts for 1.7% of SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda's investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest position. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda's holdings in Sempra were worth $12,943,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Copley Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Sempra during the third quarter worth approximately $64,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Sempra by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,695,988 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $639,921,000 after purchasing an additional 129,891 shares during the last quarter. Synovus Financial Corp raised its position in Sempra by 5.9% in the 3rd quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 6,846 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $573,000 after purchasing an additional 383 shares during the period. Blankinship & Foster LLC bought a new stake in Sempra in the third quarter worth $1,338,000. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in Sempra during the third quarter valued at about $380,000. 89.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Sempra

In other Sempra news, VP Trevor I. Mihalik sold 23,713 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 11,190 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,041,677.10. This represents a 67.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Sempra Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of Sempra stock traded up $1.23 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $89.16. 2,766,672 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,932,512. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a current ratio of 0.52. The company has a market cap of $56.47 billion, a PE ratio of 19.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.77. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $88.08 and a 200-day moving average of $82.15. Sempra has a 12 month low of $66.40 and a 12 month high of $95.77.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last announced 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 for 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 was down 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.08 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Sempra will post 4.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.62 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.78%. Sempra's dividend payout ratio is presently 54.63%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SRE has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Sempra from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Sempra from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Sempra from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $85.00 to $98.00 in a report on Friday. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Sempra from $93.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on shares of Sempra from $89.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $91.60.

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.