TCW Group Inc. Has $7.05 Million Holdings in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

TCW Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 24.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 84,301 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 16,536 shares during the quarter. TCW Group Inc.'s holdings in Sempra were worth $7,050,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Perennial Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Sempra by 2.8% during the second quarter. Perennial Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,963 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $377,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Sempra by 1.6% in the third quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 8,742 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $731,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Sempra by 4.0% during the second quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,794 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $289,000 after acquiring an additional 147 shares during the period. Lester Murray Antman dba SimplyRich increased its position in shares of Sempra by 1.2% during the second quarter. Lester Murray Antman dba SimplyRich now owns 12,558 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $955,000 after acquiring an additional 152 shares during the period. Finally, Conning Inc. boosted its holdings in Sempra by 3.8% in the second quarter. Conning Inc. now owns 4,184 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $318,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares during the period. 89.65% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Sempra

In other Sempra news, VP Trevor I. Mihalik sold 23,713 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $1,041,677.10. This trade represents a 67.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Sempra Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE SRE traded up $0.52 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $87.93. The stock had a trading volume of 4,031,384 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,933,202. 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 company has a market capitalization of $55.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.25, a PEG ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $87.84 and a 200 day moving average price of $82.02. Sempra has a 1-year low of $66.40 and a 1-year high of $95.77.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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 during 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 period in the prior year, the company posted $1.08 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Sempra will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Sempra Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.62 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.82%. Sempra's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 54.63%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on SRE. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Sempra from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Sempra from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Sempra in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $94.00 price target for the company. 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 price objective on the stock. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Sempra from $93.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Sempra has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $89.91.

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.