Natixis Advisors LLC Purchases 156,397 Shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its position in Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 35.7% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 594,683 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 156,397 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC’s holdings in Sempra were worth $49,733,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Sempra Trading Up 1.9 %

Shares of SRE stock opened at $92.19 on Monday. Sempra has a 12-month low of $66.40 and a 12-month high of $93.12. The company has a market capitalization of $58.39 billion, a PE ratio of 20.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.75. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $84.52 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $80.02. The company has a quick ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89.

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

Sempra Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 5th will be given a dividend of $0.62 per share. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 5th. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio is 54.63%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Sempra from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Bank of America assumed coverage on Sempra in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $94.00 price objective for the company. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Sempra in a report on Thursday, October 24th. They set a “buy” rating and a $98.00 target price on the stock. Barclays increased their price target 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, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Sempra from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Sempra has an average 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.