Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. Acquires 1,089 Shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. increased its stake in Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 7.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 15,752 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,089 shares during the quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc.’s holdings in Sempra were worth $1,198,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Family Firm Inc. purchased a new position in Sempra during the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Sempra during the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. purchased a new position in Sempra during the second quarter valued at approximately $34,000. SouthState Corp increased its holdings in Sempra by 900.0% during the 2nd quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 470 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 423 shares during the period. Finally, Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Sempra in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $39,000. 89.65% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sempra Stock Up 1.1 %

SRE opened at $84.06 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $52.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.64, a P/E/G ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.75. Sempra has a 12 month low of $63.75 and a 12 month high of $84.29. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $80.56 and its 200-day moving average price is $76.05. The company has a current ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.92 by ($0.03). Sempra had a net margin of 22.31% and a return on equity of 8.58%. The company had revenue of $3.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.46 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.94 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Sempra will post 4.79 EPS for the current year.

Sempra Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 26th will be given a dividend of $0.62 per share. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.95%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 26th. Sempra’s payout ratio is 54.99%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on SRE shares. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH decreased their price target on shares of Sempra from $81.50 to $79.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 29th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Sempra from $90.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Bank of America began coverage on Sempra in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $94.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Sempra from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Sempra from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Sempra presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $85.00.

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.