DRW Securities LLC Raises Stake in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

DRW Securities LLC increased its stake in Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 2,898.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 119,996 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 115,994 shares during the quarter. Sempra accounts for 0.3% of DRW Securities LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest position. DRW Securities LLC’s holdings in Sempra were worth $10,035,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in SRE. Eastern Bank acquired a new position in Sempra during the third quarter worth about $28,000. Family Firm Inc. purchased a new position in Sempra in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Hollencrest Capital Management raised its holdings in Sempra by 250.0% during the third quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 378 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 270 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Sempra during the second quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Financial Connections Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Sempra during the second quarter worth $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 shares were sold at an average price of $93.09, for a total value of $2,207,443.17. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 11,190 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,041,677.10. This trade represents a 67.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Sempra Trading Down 0.4 %

NYSE SRE opened at $94.27 on Monday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $85.66 and a 200-day moving average of $80.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.52 and a quick ratio of 0.47. Sempra has a 12 month low of $66.40 and a 12 month high of $95.29. The company has a market cap of $59.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.76, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.75.

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

Sempra Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 5th will be given a dividend of $0.62 per share. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 5th. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.63%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on SRE. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Sempra from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Sempra from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Sempra from $93.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Bank of America initiated coverage on Sempra in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $94.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Sempra in a report on Thursday, October 24th. They set a “buy” rating and a $98.00 target price on the stock. One 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Sempra presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $89.00.

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.