4,281 Shares in Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Acquired by Wallace Advisory Group LLC

Wallace Advisory Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 4,281 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $358,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in SRE. Unigestion Holding SA purchased a new stake in Sempra during the 3rd quarter worth about $33,023,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in Sempra by 8.8% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,428,132 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $286,695,000 after acquiring an additional 278,183 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its holdings in Sempra by 1.9% during the 3rd 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 during the period. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Sempra in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $675,000. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Sempra by 14.4% in the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 190,714 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $15,949,000 after purchasing an additional 23,970 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Sempra Trading Down 2.2 %

NYSE:SRE opened at $77.00 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.96, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.78. 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 company has a fifty day moving average of $88.93 and a 200 day moving average of $83.72. Sempra has a 52 week low of $66.40 and a 52 week high of $95.77.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last issued 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). Sempra had a net margin of 22.63% and a return on equity of 8.06%. The firm had revenue of $2.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.54 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.08 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Sempra will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Sempra Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 5th will be issued a $0.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.22%. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.63%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on SRE shares. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Sempra from $89.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Sempra from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Sempra in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $98.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Sempra from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised shares of Sempra from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $85.00 to $98.00 in a report on Friday, December 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $91.60.

Insider Transactions at Sempra

In other 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 value of $2,207,443.17. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Sempra 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.