BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. Increases Position in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. increased its stake in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 8.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 137,812 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,519 shares during the quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A.’s holdings in Sempra were worth $11,525,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SRE. Perennial Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position 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 buying an additional 134 shares during the last quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in 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 in the last quarter. Marcum Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Sempra by 3.5% in the second quarter. Marcum Wealth LLC now owns 4,019 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $306,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares during the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC increased its position in shares of Sempra by 1.6% during the third quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 8,742 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $731,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings 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 during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Sempra Stock Performance

Shares of SRE stock opened at $94.27 on Friday. Sempra has a 52-week low of $66.40 and a 52-week high of $95.29. 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 stock has a market cap of $59.71 billion, a PE ratio of 20.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.75. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $85.66 and a 200-day simple moving average of $80.69.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 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%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.08 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Sempra will post 4.77 EPS for the current year.

Sempra Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.63%. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 54.63%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Sempra from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Sempra in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $98.00 price objective for the company. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Sempra from $87.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Sempra from $93.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, 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 report on Wednesday, September 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Sempra currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $89.00.

Insider Transactions at Sempra

In related news, VP Trevor I. Mihalik sold 23,713 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.09, for a total value of $2,207,443.17. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 11,190 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,041,677.10. This represents a 67.94 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Sempra Company 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.