7,847 Shares in Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Purchased by SGL Investment Advisors Inc.

SGL Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 7,847 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $710,000.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Groupama Asset Managment grew its position in Sempra by 36.9% during the third quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 650,772 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $54,424,000 after buying an additional 175,518 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Sempra by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 205,775 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $17,209,000 after buying an additional 5,891 shares in the last quarter. MML Investors Services LLC increased its holdings in Sempra by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 47,397 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,964,000 after acquiring an additional 2,156 shares in the last quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC raised its position in Sempra by 4.5% during the third quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 34,343 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,872,000 after acquiring an additional 1,493 shares during the last quarter. Finally, iSAM Funds UK Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Sempra in the third quarter valued at about $342,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.65% of the company's stock.

Sempra Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of SRE traded down $0.54 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $89.06. 1,366,600 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,917,996. 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 has a 1-year low of $66.40 and a 1-year high of $95.77. The company has a market cap of $56.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.74, a P/E/G ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.77. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $87.56 and a 200-day moving average price of $81.80.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.05 by ($0.16). The company had revenue of $2.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.54 billion. Sempra had a return on equity of 8.06% and a net margin of 22.63%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.08 EPS. The firm's revenue was down 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Sempra will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Sempra Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 2.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 5th. Sempra's payout ratio is 54.63%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SRE has been the subject of several research reports. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Sempra from $93.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Sempra in a report on Thursday, October 24th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $98.00 price target for the company. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Sempra in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $94.00 target price on the stock. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Sempra from $89.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. Finally, 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $89.91.

Insider Activity at Sempra

In related news, VP Trevor I. Mihalik sold 23,713 shares of Sempra stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 11,190 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,041,677.10. This trade 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 is accessible through this link. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.