Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Shares Acquired by Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC

Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC increased its holdings in Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 34,343 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,493 shares during the quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC’s holdings in Sempra were worth $2,872,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of SRE. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Sempra by 6.3% in the second quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 6,708 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $510,000 after acquiring an additional 399 shares in the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital lifted its holdings in Sempra by 13.8% during the 2nd quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 5,398 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $416,000 after buying an additional 655 shares during the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Sempra in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $428,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its position in shares of Sempra by 10.0% in the 2nd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 135,621 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $10,315,000 after acquiring an additional 12,346 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Sempra by 29.3% in the 2nd quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 4,542 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $345,000 after acquiring an additional 1,029 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Sempra Stock Down 0.3 %

SRE stock opened at $88.55 on Wednesday. Sempra has a 52 week low of $66.40 and a 52 week high of $95.77. The company has a market capitalization of $56.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.77. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $87.67 and its two-hundred day moving average is $81.89. The company has a current ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last released 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 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 the consensus estimate of $3.54 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.08 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Sempra will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Announces Dividend

The business 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.80%. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 54.63%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Trevor I. Mihalik sold 23,713 shares of the business’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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 11,190 shares in the company, valued at $1,041,677.10. The trade was a 67.94 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.27% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SRE has been the topic of several research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Sempra from $93.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Sempra from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Sempra from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Bank of America initiated coverage on Sempra in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $94.00 target price for the company. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Sempra in a report on Thursday, October 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $98.00 price target on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $89.91.

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.