KBC Group NV Buys 13,118 Shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

KBC Group NV lifted its position in Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 4.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 288,569 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 13,118 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Sempra were worth $24,133,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in SRE. Eastern Bank purchased a new stake in Sempra in the third quarter worth approximately $28,000. Family Firm Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Sempra in the second quarter worth about $30,000. Hollencrest Capital Management increased its holdings in Sempra by 250.0% during the 3rd quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 378 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 270 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Sempra in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Financial Connections Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Sempra in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Institutional investors own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Sempra Trading Up 1.9 %

SRE stock opened at $92.19 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.52 and a quick ratio of 0.47. The company has a market capitalization of $58.39 billion, a PE ratio of 20.31, a P/E/G ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.75. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $84.31 and its 200 day moving average is $79.77. Sempra has a 12 month low of $66.40 and a 12 month high of $93.12.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.05 by ($0.16). Sempra had a net margin of 22.63% and a return on equity of 8.06%. The company had revenue of $2.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.54 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.08 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Sempra will post 4.77 EPS for the current year.

Sempra Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 5th will be given a $0.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.69%. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.63%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SRE has been the subject of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Sempra from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report 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 on the stock. Evercore ISI raised 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. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price 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, Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Sempra from $87.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $89.00.

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.