SevenBridge Financial Group LLC Has $1.93 Million Position in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

SevenBridge Financial Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 8.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 20,926 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,595 shares during the quarter. SevenBridge Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Sempra were worth $1,928,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on SRE. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Sempra from $87.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Sempra from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Sempra from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Sempra from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Bank of America started coverage on Sempra in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $94.00 price objective for the company. One 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $89.00.

Insider Activity at Sempra

In other Sempra news, VP Trevor I. Mihalik sold 23,713 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.09, for a total transaction 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Sempra Stock Performance

SRE stock opened at $94.27 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The firm has a market cap of $59.71 billion, a PE ratio of 20.76, a P/E/G ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.75. The business has a 50 day moving average of $85.66 and a 200-day moving average of $80.69. Sempra has a 12-month low of $66.40 and a 12-month high of $95.29.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last issued its quarterly 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). The company had revenue of $2.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.54 billion. Sempra had a return on equity of 8.06% and a net margin of 22.63%. Sempra’s quarterly revenue was down 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.08 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Sempra will post 4.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Sempra Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.63%. Sempra’s payout ratio is presently 54.63%.

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.