Sovran Advisors LLC Acquires New Holdings in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Sovran Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 3,378 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $296,000.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new position in Sempra during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Eastern Bank acquired a new stake in Sempra in the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Hollencrest Capital Management boosted 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 acquiring an additional 270 shares in the last quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. boosted its stake in Sempra by 225.6% in the fourth quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 433 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LRI Investments LLC boosted its stake in Sempra by 180.4% in the third quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 443 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 285 shares in the last quarter. 89.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Sempra

In related news, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 2,755 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.93, for a total transaction of $225,717.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 13,905 shares in the company, valued at $1,139,236.65. The trade was a 16.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Trevor I. Mihalik sold 23,713 shares of Sempra stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 11,190 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,041,677.10. The trade was a 67.94 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 76,205 shares of company stock worth $6,558,347 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Sempra Trading Down 0.6 %

NYSE SRE opened at $82.95 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $52.54 billion, a PE ratio of 18.27, a P/E/G ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a fifty day moving average of $85.03 and a 200 day moving average of $84.62. Sempra has a 1 year low of $66.40 and a 1 year high of $95.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.52 and a quick ratio of 0.47.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on SRE shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Sempra from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Sempra from $99.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Sempra from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $85.00 to $98.00 in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Sempra from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Sempra from $93.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $91.20.

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.