Evoke Wealth LLC Sells 5,122 Shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Evoke Wealth LLC lowered its stake in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 21.6% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 18,610 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 5,122 shares during the quarter. Sempra accounts for about 1.7% of Evoke Wealth LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest position. Evoke Wealth LLC’s holdings in Sempra were worth $1,427,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SRE. Perennial Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in Sempra by 2.8% during the 2nd 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 increased its position in Sempra by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC now owns 4,983 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $379,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the period. Marcum Wealth LLC grew its holdings 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 during the period. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Sempra by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 38,190 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,854,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Sempra Price Performance

Shares of SRE stock opened at $83.18 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $80.40 and a two-hundred day moving average of $75.92. The firm has a market cap of $52.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.75. Sempra has a 1-year low of $63.75 and a 1-year high of $84.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.46 and a quick ratio of 0.41.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $3.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.46 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.94 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter 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 fiscal 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 paid a $0.62 dividend. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 26th. Sempra’s payout ratio is 54.99%.

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.