OneAscent Financial Services LLC Makes New $214,000 Investment in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

OneAscent Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in Sempra (NYSE:SRE) in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 2,539 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $214,000.

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

Sempra Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE SRE opened at $93.37 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $59.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.57, a PEG ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.52 and a quick ratio of 0.47. Sempra has a one year low of $66.40 and a one year high of $93.44. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $84.94 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $80.30.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 EPS 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 business had revenue of $2.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.54 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.08 EPS. Sempra’s revenue for the quarter was down 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Sempra will post 4.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.62 per share. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 5th. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio is presently 54.63%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Sempra in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $94.00 price target for the company. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Sempra in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. They set a “buy” rating and a $98.00 target price for the company. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Sempra from $93.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Sempra from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price 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. 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $89.00.

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.