Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Stock Holdings Increased by Avestar Capital LLC

Avestar Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 9.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 8,593 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 711 shares during the quarter. Avestar Capital LLC’s holdings in Sempra were worth $719,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Perennial Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Sempra by 2.8% during the second quarter. Perennial Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,963 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $377,000 after acquiring an additional 134 shares during the period. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in Sempra by 2.8% in the second quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC now owns 4,983 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $379,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Marcum Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Sempra by 3.5% in the 2nd quarter. Marcum Wealth LLC now owns 4,019 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $306,000 after acquiring an additional 137 shares during the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Sempra by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 8,742 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $731,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Sempra by 4.0% during the 2nd quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,794 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $289,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares in the last quarter. 89.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Sempra

In other Sempra news, VP Trevor I. Mihalik sold 23,713 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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. This trade represents a 67.94 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Sempra Stock Performance

SRE opened at $93.28 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a current ratio of 0.52. The company has a market cap of $59.08 billion, a PE ratio of 20.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.75. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $86.07 and a 200-day moving average of $80.97. Sempra has a 52-week low of $66.40 and a 52-week high of $95.77.

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

Sempra Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 5th will be given a $0.62 dividend. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 5th. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.63%.

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.