Private Trust Co. NA Sells 208 Shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Private Trust Co. NA reduced its holdings in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 5.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,717 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 208 shares during the period. Private Trust Co. NA’s holdings in Sempra were worth $311,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Sempra by 10.0% during the second quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 135,621 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $10,315,000 after purchasing an additional 12,346 shares during the period. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd grew its stake in Sempra by 319.5% in the 2nd quarter. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd now owns 196,954 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $14,980,000 after acquiring an additional 150,000 shares in the last quarter. TCW Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Sempra by 28.2% during the second quarter. TCW Group Inc. now owns 67,765 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,154,000 after acquiring an additional 14,890 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Sempra by 1.9% during the third quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 357,107 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,865,000 after acquiring an additional 6,709 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB purchased a new stake in shares of Sempra in the first quarter valued at approximately $27,338,000. Institutional investors own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on SRE shares. Barclays raised their price objective on Sempra from $87.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Sempra from $93.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Sempra from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Sempra from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Sempra in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. They set a “buy” rating and a $98.00 price objective on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Sempra presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $89.00.

Sempra Price Performance

NYSE SRE opened at $94.28 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $86.30 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $81.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $59.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.77, a P/E/G ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.75. 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 has a 12-month low of $66.40 and a 12-month high of $95.77.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 analysts’ expectations of $3.54 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.08 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Sempra will post 4.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 5th will be given a $0.62 dividend. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.63%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 5th. Sempra’s payout ratio is currently 54.63%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Sempra news, VP Trevor I. Mihalik sold 23,713 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.09, for a total transaction of $2,207,443.17. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 11,190 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,041,677.10. This represents a 67.94 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.27% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.