Synovus Financial Corp Boosts Holdings in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Synovus Financial Corp grew its holdings in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 5.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,846 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 383 shares during the quarter. Synovus Financial Corp’s holdings in Sempra were worth $573,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Unigestion Holding SA purchased a new position in shares of Sempra during the third quarter worth approximately $33,023,000. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd raised its stake in shares of Sempra by 319.5% during the second quarter. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd now owns 196,954 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $14,980,000 after acquiring an additional 150,000 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Sempra by 1.9% during the third quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 357,107 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $29,865,000 after acquiring an additional 6,709 shares in the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Sempra during the third quarter worth approximately $675,000. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its stake in shares of Sempra by 7.2% during the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 107,800 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $9,015,000 after acquiring an additional 7,198 shares in the last quarter. 89.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Trevor I. Mihalik sold 23,713 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.09, for a total transaction of $2,207,443.17. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 11,190 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,041,677.10. The trade was a 67.94 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Sempra in a report on Thursday, October 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $98.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Sempra from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $85.00 to $98.00 in a report on Friday, December 13th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Sempra from $89.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Sempra in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $94.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Sempra from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $91.60.

Sempra Stock Performance

NYSE:SRE opened at $86.95 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $55.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.77. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $88.33 and its 200 day simple moving average is $82.42. Sempra has a twelve month low of $66.40 and a twelve month high of $95.77. The company has a quick ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 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 the consensus estimate of $3.54 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.08 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Sempra will post 4.76 EPS for the current year.

Sempra Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.62 per share. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.85%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 5th. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.