CIBC Asset Management Inc Increases Stock Position in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its position in Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 7.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 107,800 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,198 shares during the quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc’s holdings in Sempra were worth $9,015,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of Sempra by 6.9% in the 2nd quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 13,452,912 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,023,228,000 after buying an additional 874,133 shares during the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale grew its holdings in shares of Sempra by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 2,404,573 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $182,158,000 after purchasing an additional 48,592 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Sempra by 19.7% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,757,553 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $133,679,000 after purchasing an additional 289,731 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its holdings in shares of Sempra by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,659,618 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $126,246,000 after purchasing an additional 26,862 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Zimmer Partners LP grew its holdings in shares of Sempra by 96.9% during the 1st quarter. Zimmer Partners LP now owns 1,636,202 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $117,528,000 after purchasing an additional 805,084 shares during the last quarter. 89.65% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on SRE shares. Bank of America started 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. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Sempra in a report on Thursday, October 24th. They set a “buy” rating and a $98.00 target price on the stock. BMO Capital Markets increased 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. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Sempra from $87.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Sempra from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $89.00.

Sempra Trading Up 1.9 %

NYSE:SRE opened at $92.19 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $84.52 and a 200-day moving average price of $79.96. Sempra has a 12 month low of $66.40 and a 12 month high of $93.12. The company has a current ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The stock has a market cap of $58.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.31, a P/E/G ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.75.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by ($0.16). Sempra had a net margin of 22.63% and a return on equity of 8.06%. The business had revenue of $2.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.54 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.08 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Sempra will post 4.77 EPS for the current year.

Sempra Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.62 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.69%. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.63%.

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.