Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Shares Acquired by Stifel Financial Corp

Stifel Financial Corp boosted its position in Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 4.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 469,214 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 20,771 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp owned approximately 0.07% of Sempra worth $39,241,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in SRE. Eastern Bank acquired a new position in Sempra during the third quarter worth $28,000. Family Firm Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Sempra in the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Hollencrest Capital Management lifted its stake in shares of Sempra by 250.0% during the 3rd quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 378 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 270 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Sempra during the second quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Financial Connections Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Sempra in the second quarter valued at approximately $34,000. 89.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Sempra from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Sempra in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $94.00 price objective for the company. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Sempra from $93.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Sempra from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Sempra from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $89.91.

Sempra Stock Performance

SRE stock traded down $1.34 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $89.60. The company had a trading volume of 3,265,220 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,186,882. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $87.56 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $81.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $56.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.74, a P/E/G ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.77. 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 one year low of $66.40 and a one year high of $95.77.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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). Sempra had a net margin of 22.63% and a return on equity of 8.06%. The firm had revenue of $2.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.54 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.08 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Sempra will post 4.76 EPS for the current 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 given a $0.62 dividend. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.77%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 5th. Sempra's dividend payout ratio is currently 54.63%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other 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 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

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.