PNC Financial Services Group Inc. Purchases 6,709 Shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its stake in Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 1.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 357,107 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 6,709 shares during the quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. owned approximately 0.06% of Sempra worth $29,865,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of SRE. Magnetar Financial LLC purchased a new position in Sempra in the 1st quarter worth about $2,293,000. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Sempra by 319.5% during the second quarter. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd now owns 196,954 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $14,980,000 after acquiring an additional 150,000 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 12,346 shares during the period. CreativeOne Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of Sempra by 171.6% in the 1st quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 10,477 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $753,000 after acquiring an additional 6,620 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TCW Group Inc. boosted its stake in Sempra by 28.2% in the 2nd quarter. TCW Group Inc. now owns 67,765 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $5,154,000 after purchasing an additional 14,890 shares during the period. 89.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Sempra Stock Performance

Shares of Sempra stock opened at $93.12 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.52 and a quick ratio of 0.47. Sempra has a fifty-two week low of $66.40 and a fifty-two week high of $93.90. The firm has a market cap of $58.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.75. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $85.18 and a 200 day simple moving average of $80.39.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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). The company had revenue of $2.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.54 billion. Sempra had a return on equity of 8.06% and a net margin of 22.63%. Sempra's quarterly revenue was down 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.08 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Sempra will post 4.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 5th will be given a dividend of $0.62 per share. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 5th. Sempra's dividend payout ratio is 54.63%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on SRE. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Sempra from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Sempra from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Sempra from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Bank of America began coverage on Sempra in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $94.00 target price on the stock. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Sempra from $93.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $89.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sempra

In other Sempra news, VP Trevor I. Mihalik sold 23,713 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

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.