Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Shares Purchased by Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd.

Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 2.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 205,775 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,891 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Sempra were worth $17,209,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Sempra

In other Sempra news, VP Trevor I. Mihalik sold 23,713 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.09, for a total transaction of $2,207,443.17. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 11,190 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,041,677.10. The trade was a 67.94 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.27% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on SRE. Barclays lifted their price target on Sempra from $89.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Sempra in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. They set a “buy” rating and a $98.00 price target for the company. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Sempra from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Sempra from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Sempra from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Sempra presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $89.91.

Sempra Stock Performance

SRE stock opened at $88.55 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $87.67 and a 200 day simple moving average of $81.89. The company has a market capitalization of $56.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.50, a PEG ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a quick ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. Sempra has a fifty-two week low of $66.40 and a fifty-two week high of $95.77.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $2.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.54 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.08 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Sempra will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Dividend Announcement

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 is Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.80%. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.