Bokf Na Buys 5,066 Shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Bokf Na raised its stake in Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 1,027.6% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,559 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,066 shares during the period. Bokf Na’s holdings in Sempra were worth $423,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of SRE. LPL Financial LLC boosted its stake in shares of Sempra by 7.3% in the 2nd quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 504,363 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $38,362,000 after purchasing an additional 34,457 shares in the last quarter. AGF Management Ltd. boosted its position in Sempra by 8.1% in the second quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 69,752 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,305,000 after buying an additional 5,248 shares in the last quarter. Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Sempra by 18.9% during the second quarter. Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC now owns 3,806 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $289,000 after buying an additional 604 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Sempra by 5.5% during the second quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 85,521 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,505,000 after buying an additional 4,437 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Interstate Bank bought a new position in shares of Sempra in the second quarter valued at approximately $204,000. 89.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Sempra Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:SRE opened at $83.60 on Tuesday. 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 has a 1-year low of $63.75 and a 1-year high of $84.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $52.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.52, a P/E/G ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.75. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $79.86 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $75.60.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last posted its quarterly 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 the consensus estimate of $3.46 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.94 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Sempra will post 4.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Sempra Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 2.97%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 26th. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 54.93%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on SRE shares. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Sempra from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Sempra from $90.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Bank of America assumed 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. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Sempra from $81.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH lowered their price objective on shares of Sempra from $81.50 to $79.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company 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.