JPMorgan Chase & Co. Grows Stock Holdings in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 8.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,428,132 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 278,183 shares during the quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned approximately 0.54% of Sempra worth $286,695,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Eastern Bank purchased a new position in shares of Sempra in the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. Hollencrest Capital Management increased its stake in Sempra by 250.0% in the third quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 378 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 270 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Sempra during the second quarter worth approximately $33,000. SouthState Corp lifted its position in shares of Sempra by 900.0% during the 2nd quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 470 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 423 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LRI Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Sempra by 180.4% in the 3rd quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 443 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 285 shares in the last quarter. 89.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sempra

In other Sempra news, VP Trevor I. Mihalik sold 23,713 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the vice president now owns 11,190 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,041,677.10. This represents a 67.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Sempra Stock Performance

NYSE SRE opened at $87.77 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $55.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.33, a PEG ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.77. The business’s 50 day moving average is $88.87 and its two-hundred day moving average is $83.04. Sempra has a 12-month low of $66.40 and a 12-month high of $95.77. The company has a current ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by ($0.16). Sempra had a return on equity of 8.06% and a net margin of 22.63%. The business had revenue of $2.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.54 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.08 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Sempra will post 4.76 EPS for the current year.

Sempra Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.83%. Sempra’s payout ratio is currently 54.63%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on SRE shares. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Sempra from $89.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Sempra from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Sempra from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Morgan Stanley raised Sempra from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $85.00 to $98.00 in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Sempra in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $94.00 target price on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $91.60.

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.