Prospera Financial Services Inc Boosts Stock Position in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Prospera Financial Services Inc boosted its holdings in Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 14.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 34,455 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,401 shares during the period. Prospera Financial Services Inc’s holdings in Sempra were worth $2,881,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Magnetar Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Sempra during the 1st quarter valued at $2,293,000. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd lifted its position in shares of Sempra by 319.5% during the 2nd quarter. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd now owns 196,954 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $14,980,000 after buying an additional 150,000 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Sempra by 10.0% during the 2nd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 135,621 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $10,315,000 after buying an additional 12,346 shares during the last quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of Sempra by 171.6% during the 1st quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 10,477 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $753,000 after buying an additional 6,620 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TCW Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Sempra by 28.2% during the 2nd quarter. TCW Group Inc. now owns 67,765 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,154,000 after buying an additional 14,890 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Sempra Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SRE opened at $93.12 on Thursday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $58.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.75. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $85.18 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $80.39. Sempra has a twelve month low of $66.40 and a twelve month high of $93.90.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.05 by ($0.16). The firm had revenue of $2.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.54 billion. Sempra had a net margin of 22.63% and a return on equity of 8.06%. Sempra’s revenue for the quarter was down 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.08 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Sempra will post 4.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.66%. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.63%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Trevor I. Mihalik sold 23,713 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.09, for a total transaction of $2,207,443.17. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 11,190 shares in the company, valued at $1,041,677.10. This trade represents a 67.94 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SRE has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Bank of America assumed coverage on Sempra in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $94.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Sempra from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Sempra from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Barclays increased their price objective on Sempra from $87.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Sempra from $93.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. One 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $89.00.

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.