Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Shares Acquired by Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its holdings in Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 5.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 265,005 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,779 shares during the quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in Sempra were worth $22,162,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SRE has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Sempra from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Sempra in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. They set a “buy” rating and a $98.00 price target for the company. 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 research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Sempra from $87.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Sempra from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. One investment 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, Sempra has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $89.00.

Insider Transactions at Sempra

In related news, VP Trevor I. Mihalik sold 23,713 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 11,190 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,041,677.10. This represents a 67.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Sempra Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SRE opened at $93.77 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $59.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.65, a PEG ratio of 2.59 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 12 month low of $66.40 and a 12 month high of $95.77. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $86.75 and its 200 day moving average price is $81.27.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by ($0.16). The firm had revenue of $2.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.54 billion. Sempra had a return on equity of 8.06% and a net margin of 22.63%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.08 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Sempra will post 4.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 5th will be given a dividend of $0.62 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.64%. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 54.63%.

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.