SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC Increases Stake in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 4.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 3,980 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 186 shares during the quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Sempra were worth $333,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Perennial Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Sempra by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter. Perennial Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,963 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $377,000 after buying an additional 134 shares during the period. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in Sempra by 2.8% during the second quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC now owns 4,983 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $379,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares during the period. Marcum Wealth LLC increased its stake in Sempra by 3.5% during the second quarter. Marcum Wealth LLC now owns 4,019 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $306,000 after acquiring an additional 137 shares during the last quarter. Lester Murray Antman dba SimplyRich raised its holdings in shares of Sempra by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Lester Murray Antman dba SimplyRich now owns 12,558 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $955,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares during the period. Finally, Conning Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Sempra by 3.8% in the 2nd quarter. Conning Inc. now owns 4,184 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $318,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Sempra Trading Up 0.5 %

NYSE:SRE opened at $85.96 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $54.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.75. Sempra has a one year low of $66.40 and a one year high of $86.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 0.46. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $82.30 and its 200 day simple moving average is $77.62.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 earnings per share (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 business had revenue of $3.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.46 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.94 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. 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 was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 26th were given a $0.62 dividend. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 26th. Sempra’s payout ratio is currently 52.99%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on SRE. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Sempra from $90.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Sempra from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Sempra in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $94.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Sempra from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on Sempra from $87.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $86.20.

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.