Van ECK Associates Corp Has $15.59 Million Stock Position in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 6.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 181,324 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 11,270 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Sempra were worth $15,586,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in SRE. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Sempra in the third quarter worth approximately $211,000. Baxter Bros Inc. purchased a new stake in Sempra in the 3rd quarter valued at $301,000. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its position in Sempra by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 276,948 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $23,161,000 after buying an additional 10,720 shares during the last quarter. Prossimo Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Sempra by 14.8% during the 3rd quarter. Prossimo Advisors LLC now owns 6,240 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $522,000 after acquiring an additional 805 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Greenwich Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sempra in the 3rd quarter worth $208,000. Institutional investors own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Sempra Stock Performance

NYSE SRE opened at $82.22 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $52.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a quick ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84. The company’s 50 day moving average is $83.12 and its 200-day moving average is $78.93. Sempra has a 12-month low of $66.40 and a 12-month high of $86.57.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last issued 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.46 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.94 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Sempra will post 4.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Sempra Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 26th were issued a dividend of $0.62 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 26th. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.02%. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 52.99%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on SRE shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Sempra from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Barclays boosted their target price on Sempra from $87.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Sempra from $93.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Sempra in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $98.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Bank of America assumed coverage on Sempra in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $94.00 target price for the company. One investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Sempra presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $87.55.

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.