Virtu Financial LLC Takes $246,000 Position in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in Sempra (NYSE:SRE) during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor acquired 2,943 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $246,000.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Unigestion Holding SA acquired a new position in shares of Sempra during the third quarter worth approximately $33,023,000. TCW Group Inc. increased its position in Sempra by 24.4% during the third quarter. TCW Group Inc. now owns 84,301 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $7,050,000 after acquiring an additional 16,536 shares during the period. TD Private Client Wealth LLC raised its stake in Sempra by 23.7% during the 3rd quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 16,864 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,410,000 after purchasing an additional 3,226 shares during the last quarter. Fortem Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in Sempra by 37.8% in the 3rd quarter. Fortem Financial Group LLC now owns 4,853 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $406,000 after purchasing an additional 1,330 shares during the period. Finally, Toronto Dominion Bank grew its position in Sempra by 41.6% in the 3rd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 279,944 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $23,412,000 after purchasing an additional 82,306 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Trevor I. Mihalik sold 23,713 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 11,190 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,041,677.10. This represents a 67.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Sempra Stock Down 1.9 %

Shares of SRE opened at $86.95 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $55.07 billion, a PE ratio of 19.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.77. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $88.33 and its 200-day moving average is $82.42. Sempra has a 12 month low of $66.40 and a 12 month high of $95.77. The company has a current ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last issued 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 net margin of 22.63% and a return on equity of 8.06%. The company had revenue of $2.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.54 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.08 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Sempra will post 4.76 EPS for the current year.

Sempra Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 5th will be issued 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 2.85%. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.63%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on SRE. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Sempra from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $85.00 to $98.00 in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Sempra from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Sempra from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Barclays raised their target price on Sempra from $89.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Sempra in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $98.00 target price for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $91.60.

About Sempra

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.