Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Increases Stake in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,625,473 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 48,512 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned about 0.57% of Sempra worth $303,198,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of Sempra by 6.9% in the second quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 13,452,912 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,023,228,000 after buying an additional 874,133 shares in the last quarter. Zimmer Partners LP boosted its position in shares of Sempra by 96.9% during the 1st quarter. Zimmer Partners LP now owns 1,636,202 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $117,528,000 after purchasing an additional 805,084 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB acquired a new position in shares of Sempra during the 1st quarter worth $27,338,000. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI purchased a new position in shares of Sempra in the 2nd quarter valued at about $23,056,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Sempra by 19.7% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,757,553 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $133,679,000 after purchasing an additional 289,731 shares during the period. 89.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Sempra Stock Performance

NYSE:SRE opened at $94.27 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.52 and a quick ratio of 0.47. The firm has a market cap of $59.71 billion, a PE ratio of 20.76, a P/E/G ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.75. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $85.66 and a 200-day simple moving average of $80.64. Sempra has a 1-year low of $66.40 and a 1-year high of $95.29.

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). The business had revenue of $2.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.54 billion. Sempra had a net margin of 22.63% and a return on equity of 8.06%. The company’s revenue was down 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.08 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Sempra will post 4.77 EPS for the current year.

Sempra Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 5th will be issued a $0.62 dividend. 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 2.63%. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.63%.

Insider Activity

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on SRE. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Sempra from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Bank of America initiated coverage on Sempra in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $94.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Sempra from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Sempra from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Sempra from $93.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $89.00.

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.