Wealth Alliance Has $564,000 Position in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Wealth Alliance boosted its stake in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 8.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 7,413 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 572 shares during the quarter. Wealth Alliance’s holdings in Sempra were worth $564,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Perennial Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in Sempra by 2.8% during the second quarter. Perennial Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,963 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $377,000 after acquiring an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in Sempra by 2.8% during the second quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC now owns 4,983 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $379,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Marcum Wealth LLC raised its stake in Sempra by 3.5% during 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. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. raised its stake in Sempra by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 38,190 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,854,000 after acquiring an additional 147 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Sempra by 4.0% in the second quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,794 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $289,000 after buying an additional 147 shares in the last quarter. 89.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Sempra Price Performance

Sempra stock opened at $82.94 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84. Sempra has a 12-month low of $63.75 and a 12-month high of $84.29. The stock has a market cap of $52.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.75. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $80.16 and its 200 day simple moving average is $75.75.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.92 by ($0.03). Sempra had a return on equity of 8.58% and a net margin of 22.31%. The company had revenue of $3.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.46 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.94 EPS. Sempra’s quarterly revenue was down 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Sempra will post 4.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Sempra Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 26th will be issued a dividend of $0.62 per share. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 26th. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 54.93%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SRE has been the subject of a number of research reports. Barclays raised their target price on Sempra from $81.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. Bank of America initiated coverage on Sempra in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $94.00 target price for the company. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Sempra from $90.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH lowered their target price on Sempra from $81.50 to $79.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Sempra from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Sempra has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $85.00.

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.