Acadian Asset Management LLC Increases Stock Position in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its position in Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 739.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 15,182 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 13,374 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Sempra were worth $1,153,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Family Firm Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Sempra in the second quarter valued at about $30,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Sempra during the second quarter worth about $34,000. SouthState Corp increased its holdings in Sempra by 900.0% during the second quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 470 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 423 shares during the last quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Sempra during the second quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, Salomon & Ludwin LLC purchased a new stake in Sempra during the first quarter worth about $44,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SRE has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Sempra in a report on Thursday. They set a “buy” rating and a $94.00 price objective for the company. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH decreased their price objective on shares of Sempra from $81.50 to $79.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 29th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Sempra from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Sempra from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Sempra from $81.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $85.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sempra

In other Sempra news, CAO Peter R. Wall sold 6,100 shares of Sempra stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.07, for a total transaction of $457,927.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 14,751 shares in the company, valued at $1,107,357.57. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Sempra Price Performance

SRE stock opened at $82.97 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $79.69 and a 200-day moving average of $75.51. The company has a current ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84. Sempra has a 12 month low of $63.75 and a 12 month high of $84.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $52.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.75.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.92 by ($0.03). Sempra had a net margin of 22.31% and a return on equity of 8.58%. The firm had revenue of $3.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.46 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.94 earnings per share. Sempra’s revenue was down 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Sempra will post 4.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 26th will be given a dividend of $0.62 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 26th. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.99%. Sempra’s payout ratio is presently 54.93%.

About Sempra

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.