Investment Management Corp of Ontario Boosts Position in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Investment Management Corp of Ontario raised its position in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 49.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 21,087 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 7,000 shares during the quarter. Investment Management Corp of Ontario's holdings in Sempra were worth $1,764,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of SRE. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Sempra by 9.1% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 18,978,605 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,587,181,000 after buying an additional 1,582,653 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its position 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 valued at $1,023,228,000 after acquiring an additional 874,133 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its position in shares of Sempra by 38.3% in the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,420,045 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $118,219,000 after acquiring an additional 393,277 shares in the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Sempra by 27.3% in the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 1,622,786 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $135,714,000 after acquiring an additional 347,625 shares during the period. Finally, Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI purchased a new stake in shares of Sempra during the second quarter worth about $23,056,000. 89.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Sempra from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. BMO Capital Markets boosted 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. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Sempra in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. They set a "buy" rating and a $98.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Sempra from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, 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 note on Thursday, November 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $89.91.

Sempra Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SRE traded down $0.56 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $90.94. 3,910,534 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,923,493. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.52 and a quick ratio of 0.47. Sempra has a 1 year low of $66.40 and a 1 year high of $95.77. The company's 50-day moving average is $87.44 and its two-hundred day moving average is $81.66. The company has a market capitalization of $57.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.03, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.77.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.05 by ($0.16). The company had revenue of $2.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.54 billion. Sempra had a net margin of 22.63% and a return on equity of 8.06%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.08 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Sempra will post 4.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 5th will be given a dividend of $0.62 per share. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 5th. Sempra's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 54.63%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Trevor I. Mihalik sold 23,713 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.09, for a total transaction of $2,207,443.17. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 11,190 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,041,677.10. This trade represents a 67.94 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

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.