Czech National Bank Buys 8,356 Shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Czech National Bank raised its position in Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 6.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 137,334 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 8,356 shares during the quarter. Czech National Bank's holdings in Sempra were worth $12,047,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Eastern Bank purchased a new stake in Sempra during the third quarter valued at about $28,000. Hollencrest Capital Management lifted its stake in shares of Sempra by 250.0% during the 3rd quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 378 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 270 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Sempra during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. grew its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LRI Investments LLC increased its position in shares of Sempra by 180.4% during the third quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 443 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 285 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.65% of the company's stock.

Sempra Trading Up 1.5 %

NYSE:SRE traded up $1.18 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $78.12. 6,083,679 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,290,360. Sempra has a 12-month low of $66.40 and a 12-month 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. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $88.85 and a 200-day moving average price of $83.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $49.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.21, a PEG ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.78.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.05 by ($0.16). Sempra had a net margin of 22.63% and a return on equity of 8.06%. The company had revenue of $2.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.54 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.08 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Sempra will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Sempra Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 5th will be given a dividend of $0.62 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.17%. Sempra's dividend payout ratio is presently 54.63%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on SRE. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Sempra from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $85.00 to $98.00 in a research report on Friday, December 13th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Sempra from $93.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Barclays lifted their price target on Sempra from $89.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Sempra from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Sempra in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. They set a "buy" rating and a $98.00 target price for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $91.60.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Sempra news, VP Trevor I. Mihalik sold 23,713 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $1,041,677.10. This represents a 67.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Sempra Company Profile

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.