Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Shares Sold by Independent Advisor Alliance

Independent Advisor Alliance cut its holdings in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 6.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,441 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 474 shares during the period. Independent Advisor Alliance’s holdings in Sempra were worth $539,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of SRE. Eastern Bank acquired a new stake in Sempra during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Hollencrest Capital Management boosted its stake in shares of Sempra by 250.0% during the 3rd quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 378 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 270 shares during the last quarter. Family Firm Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Sempra during the second quarter worth approximately $30,000. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sempra in the second quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Financial Connections Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Sempra in the second quarter valued at $34,000. 89.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on SRE. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Sempra from $93.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. 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. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Sempra from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Sempra in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $98.00 target price for the company. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on Sempra from $87.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $89.00.

Sempra Stock Up 1.1 %

SRE opened at $94.28 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $86.30 and its 200 day moving average price is $81.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.52 and a quick ratio of 0.47. The stock has a market cap of $59.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.77, a P/E/G ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.75. Sempra has a 12 month low of $66.40 and a 12 month high of $95.77.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last issued its quarterly 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 analyst estimates of $3.54 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.08 earnings per share. Sempra’s revenue for the quarter was down 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Sempra will post 4.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Sempra Announces Dividend

The firm 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 $0.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.63%. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 54.63%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sempra

In related news, VP Trevor I. Mihalik sold 23,713 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.27% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.