Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP Increases Holdings in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 34.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,020,769 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 264,064 shares during the period. Sempra comprises 2.2% of Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP’s holdings, making the stock its 16th biggest position. Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP owned 0.16% of Sempra worth $85,367,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its holdings in Sempra by 6.9% in the 2nd quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 13,452,912 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,023,228,000 after buying an additional 874,133 shares during the period. Zimmer Partners LP boosted its stake in Sempra by 96.9% during the first quarter. Zimmer Partners LP now owns 1,636,202 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $117,528,000 after buying an additional 805,084 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in Sempra during the first quarter worth about $27,338,000. Natixis acquired a new position in Sempra in the first quarter valued at approximately $26,871,000. Finally, Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI acquired a new position in Sempra in the second quarter valued at about $23,056,000. Institutional investors own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Sempra Stock Up 1.9 %

SRE opened at $92.19 on Monday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $84.52 and a 200-day moving average of $80.02. Sempra has a 1-year low of $66.40 and a 1-year high of $93.12. The company has a current ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $58.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.31, a P/E/G ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.75.

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

Sempra Announces Dividend

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 paid a $0.62 dividend. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 5th. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio is 54.63%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SRE has been the topic of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Sempra from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Sempra in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $94.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Sempra from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Sempra from $93.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on Sempra from $87.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. One 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.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.