Copley Financial Group Inc. Acquires New Stake in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Copley Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SREFree Report) in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 764 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $64,000.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Sempra from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $85.00 to $98.00 in a research note on Friday. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Sempra from $89.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Sempra from $93.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Sempra in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $94.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Sempra in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $98.00 target price for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $91.60.

Check Out Our Latest Research Report on Sempra

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Trevor I. Mihalik sold 23,713 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.09, for a total transaction of $2,207,443.17. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 11,190 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,041,677.10. This represents a 67.94 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Sempra Trading Up 1.3 %

SRE stock traded up $1.12 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $89.05. The stock had a trading volume of 276,454 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,921,793. The company has a current ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $87.95 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $82.06. Sempra has a 1-year low of $66.40 and a 1-year high of $95.77. The firm has a market cap of $56.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.77.

Sempra (NYSE:SREGet Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.05 by ($0.16). The business had revenue of $2.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.54 billion. Sempra had a net margin of 22.63% and a return on equity of 8.06%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.08 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Sempra will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.78%. Sempra’s payout ratio is presently 54.63%.

Sempra Profile

(Free Report)

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.

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Institutional Ownership by Quarter for Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

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