Values First Advisors Inc. Purchases New Position in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Values First Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE) during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund acquired 966 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $81,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Perennial Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 134 shares during the last quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Sempra by 2.8% in the 2nd 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 last quarter. Marcum Wealth LLC grew its position 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 acquiring an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC raised its position in Sempra by 1.6% during the third quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 8,742 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $731,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares during the period. Finally, SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Sempra by 4.0% in the 2nd quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,794 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $289,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares during the period. 89.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Sempra Price Performance

NYSE SRE opened at $84.38 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $53.43 billion, a PE ratio of 18.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.75. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $82.81 and its 200-day moving average price is $78.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 0.46. Sempra has a 52-week low of $66.40 and a 52-week high of $86.57.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last announced its 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). The company had revenue of $3.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.46 billion. Sempra had a net margin of 22.31% and a return on equity of 8.58%. The firm’s revenue was down 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.94 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Sempra will post 4.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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 2.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 26th. Sempra’s payout ratio is 52.99%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Sempra from $87.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Bank of America started coverage on Sempra in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $94.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted 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. 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 research note on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Sempra from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $87.55.

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.