Confluence Wealth Services Inc. Takes Position in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Confluence Wealth Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 2,518 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $211,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new position in shares of Sempra in the 1st quarter worth approximately $815,000. Magnetar Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Sempra in the first quarter valued at $2,293,000. Forsta AP Fonden increased its holdings in shares of Sempra by 13.7% in the first quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 117,200 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $8,418,000 after buying an additional 14,100 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its position in shares of Sempra by 249.9% during the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 155,854 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $11,195,000 after acquiring an additional 111,314 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Sempra by 319.5% during the 2nd quarter. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd now owns 196,954 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $14,980,000 after acquiring an additional 150,000 shares in the last quarter. 89.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Sempra Trading Down 1.0 %

SRE opened at $80.81 on Tuesday. Sempra has a 1-year low of $66.40 and a 1-year high of $86.57. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $83.11 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $78.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $51.16 billion, a PE ratio of 17.27, a PEG ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a current ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.92 by ($0.03). Sempra had a net margin of 22.31% and a return on equity of 8.58%. The firm had revenue of $3.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.46 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.94 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Sempra will post 4.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 26th were given a dividend of $0.62 per share. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.07%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 26th. Sempra’s payout ratio is 52.99%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on SRE shares. Bank of America started coverage on shares of Sempra in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $94.00 target price for the company. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Sempra in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. They set a “buy” rating and a $98.00 price objective on the stock. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Sempra from $93.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Barclays lifted their price target on Sempra from $87.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Sempra from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Sempra currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $87.55.

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.